Bastani

Flakes of frozen clotted cream are stirred in at the end and stay solid in the finished ice cream.

Egg. Vegetarian, but not vegan — contains egg, dairy (clotted cream), dairy (whole milk).

Ingredients

• 800 ml whole milk
• 6 egg yolks
• 200 g caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon saffron threads, ground and steeped in 3 tablespoons hot water
• 3 tablespoons rose water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 150 g clotted cream
• 80 g pistachios, slivered
• 2 teaspoons salep, optional

Method

1. FLAKES OF FROZEN CLOTTED CREAM ARE STIRRED IN AT THE END AND STAY SOLID IN THE FINISHED ICE CREAM. Its article says bastani often contains flakes of frozen clotted cream, and that word -- flakes -- is the whole texture of the thing. Spread the clotted cream on a lined tray about half a centimetre thick, freeze it hard, then break it into rough shards and fold them through the ice cream in the last minute of churning. Because they go in already frozen they never melt into the base, so eating it you get cold chewy slabs of almost-pure cream against the saffron custard. Stirred in soft, the cream simply disappears and you have made an ordinary ice cream.
2. THE SAFFRON IS GROUND, STEEPED, AND IT IS A WHOLE TEASPOON. Threads ground to powder with a pinch of the sugar, then three tablespoons of hot water for twenty minutes until the liquid is deep orange. This is the dominant flavour and the colour of the dish, and half a teaspoon is not enough to carry against eight hundred millilitres of milk and the rose.
3. IT IS A YOLK CUSTARD AND IT IS COOKED TO JUST THICK. Its article names milk, yolk and sugar. Six yolks whisked with the sugar, the hot milk poured on, then back on a low heat stirring until it coats the back of a spoon and leaves a clear line when you draw a finger through it. Not a second longer -- it scrambles at a bare simmer.
4. THE ROSE WATER GOES IN COLD, AFTER THE CUSTARD HAS CHILLED. Its aroma is volatile and boiling it off is exactly what happens if it goes into a hot pan. Three tablespoons stirred into the cold base.
5. THE BASE IS CHILLED THOROUGHLY BEFORE IT IS CHURNED. Four hours, or overnight. A base that goes into the machine warm churns to a coarse, icy texture because it takes too long to freeze.
6. SALEP IS AN OPTION AND IT CHANGES THE TEXTURE COMPLETELY. Its article notes salep is sometimes included. It is a starchy orchid-root powder and it makes the ice cream stretchy and chewy rather than smooth. Two teaspoons whisked into the milk before the custard is made, if you want that.
7. THE PISTACHIOS GO IN WITH THE CREAM FLAKES. Slivered rather than chopped, folded in at the end so they stay distinct. Toasting them is not wanted here -- raw pistachio is greener and sweeter and suits the rose.
8. IT IS ALSO DRUNK, AND THAT IS A SEPARATE THING ITS ARTICLE NAMES. Ab havij bastani is a float made with carrot juice, sometimes dusted with cinnamon or nutmeg: a scoop of this ice cream in a glass of carrot juice.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Iran · All recipes