SAEDNEWS: A thorough, traditional guide to Shir Berenj — Iran’s milk-and-rice pudding — offering step-by-step cooking instructions, practical tips, temperament and health notes.
Shir berenj (also called shirba) is a dish made from milk and rice. It is eaten with sugar, honey, syrup, jam, and some people even with salt.
Shir berenj is also called shirba and ash-e shir. Shir berenj is an old Iranian food item that is served hot or cold and is delicious in both forms. Shir berenj is used as breakfast, appetizer, dessert, and during Ramadan as iftar and even as a main dish; it is prepared in a variety of ways.
Shirba is mentioned in Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh as well. In Mazandaran there is a ceremony called “requesting rain” (Temnā-ye Bārān) in which, in one of its rites, all villagers gather milk and rice, make shir berenj from it, eat it and pour some of it on their roofs in the belief that rain will fall.
Ingredient | Quantity / Notes |
|---|---|
Iranian semi-broken rice (recommended) | 1 cup |
Milk | 2.5 kilograms |
Whole cardamom pods | 2 pieces |
Sugar (to taste) | 2–3 tablespoons |
It is better to use Iranian semi-broken rice for making shir berenj — as with sholeh zard or ash doogh — because it opens up and breaks down faster. Also use fresh cow’s milk purchased from dairy shops (loose milk) because it is both richer and tastier than packaged supermarket milks. Most people cook the rice together with water and milk, or some cook the rice in water first and then add milk; but if cooked from the start in pure milk without water it becomes extraordinarily tastier and there is no need to add cream.
Soak the rice in water from the night before.
Pour the milk into a suitable pot and add the rice; add the cardamom pods whole so they give a good aroma, and remove them at the end of cooking.
When it comes to a boil, reduce the heat so the rice cooks thoroughly. Do not cover the pot because the milk will boil over.
When the rice is fully cooked and has broken up, you can add the sugar; then the shir berenj is ready. Pour into the desired serving dish and garnish with slivered almonds, pistachios, cinnamon, sesame, rose petals (gol-e Mohammadi) and so on.
Tip one: Milk boils over quickly, so the stove flame should not be high.
Tip two: If desired you can add 1 tablespoon of cream.
Tip three: If you used low-fat packaged milk or cooked shir berenj with some water in addition to milk, add 1–2 tablespoons of cream to make it tastier.
Tip four: Those who like the aroma of rosewater can add 2 tablespoons of rosewater at the end of cooking; this is optional — personally I prefer not to change the pure taste of milk and rice.
Tip five: If you want to eat shir berenj with honey, jam, etc., do not add sugar.
Tip six: You can leave the sugar aside and let each person sweeten to taste when serving.
Tip seven: Instead of whole cardamom pods at the start of cooking, you can use a stick of cinnamon.
Tip eight: To counter the cooling temperament of shir berenj, you can eat it with honey and cinnamon.
Shir berenj has a cold temperament.
Because shir berenj contains milk (a rich source of calcium) and rice (high in B vitamins), and also contains nourishing and nerve-calming flavorings such as cardamom and rosewater, it is beneficial.
