I was never a fan of Zarda until I had the one made by my mother-in-law. There was something special about it that made it stand out. Sharing her recipe with tips and tricks to make the best Zarda.

My husband asked my mother-in-law to make her special Zarda. I wasn’t very keen on trying it but when I did, I couldn’t stop eating it. I was surprised because up until now, I wasn’t a fan of Zarda. It was that moment that I realized that not every Zarda is made equal. There is a right and a wrong way of making Zarda. And if made right, Zarda can be irresistible.

So when my mother-in-law visited me recently in Germany, I asked her to show me how she makes it and share her tips to make a good one. There are some key tips that she shared with me.

Key Tips to Make a Good Zarda

• Use Quality Rice: Long grain basmati rice is what you need for this recipe. Do not use short grain or supermarket basmati rice because that will get clumpy and won’t give you the desired texture.
• Wash the Rice: Fill the rice up with water and run your hand through it. Discard the water and repeat 3-4 times. Be gentle and take care not to break the rice grains. Washing the rice removes the extra starch and results in a fluffy (khila-khila) texture.
• Soak the Rice: Soaking the rice results in longer grains and softer texture. You need to soak the rice ideally for 30 minutes before cooking it.
• Finish Cooking Rice in Water (with color): Before you add sugar and other ingredients , make sure you cook the rice completely. If left uncooked, the rice won’t cook further once sugar is added and it will result in a hard and chewy texture. This is a mistake that people often make while making zarda.
• Correct Rice to Sugar Ratio: You do not want your zarda to be too sweet nor under sweet. 1:1 ratio of rice and sugar gives the perfect level of sweetness. It is best to measure with a weighing scale.

How to Store and Reheat?

Zarda is best served warm and hot, freshly made. If you have to store it, store in an airtight container in the fridge. Best way to reheat it is to put it in a microwave safe dish, sprinkle some drops of water and microwave, stirring a few times in between. Alternatively, you can heat it up in a pan on low heat with a lid on, stirring it a few times. Be gentle while stirring because the rice grains may break while being stirred too much.

Ingredients Needed

• Basmati Rice: Good quality, long grain basmati rice is what you need. The longer the grains of your rice, the better the texture of Zarda.
• Nuts: My mother-in-law uses a mix of almonds and cashews. Peeled almonds are preferable. If peeled ones aren’t available, you can soak the almonds in hot water for 30 minutes and take the skin off.
• Raisins: Golden raisins are preferable but you can use ann other variety as well.
• Coconut: We need coconut flakes for this recipe, not shredded coconut. We got them from the supermarket labeled as ‘Coconut Chips’. You can also take a whole dried coconut and cut it into flakes yourself.
• Green cardamom: You can find it at the Indian stores or at some well stocked grocery stores as well.
• Sugar: We used unrefined sugar, but you can use regular sugar as well.
• Edible Orange Color: Orange color in powdered form (TRS brand) is what we used for this recipe.
• Kewra water: You will find it at Indian grocery stores. It gives the Zarda it’s signature aroma, so you don’t want to skip it. But if you don’t have kewra available, you can use rose water which will slightly change the flavor profile but will work too.
• Ghee: It adds richness to the zarda. You can find ghee at Indian grocery stores or even at well stocked supermarkets. You may use butter instead but take care to cook it at low temperature to avoid burning it.