Sohan

It is thickened with wheat sprout and egg yolk, which is what makes it a brittle rather than a caramel.

Egg. Vegetarian, but not vegan — contains egg, dairy (butter).

Ingredients

• 150 g wheat sprout, or 100 g malt extract
• 100 g plain flour
• 400 g sugar
• 200 ml water
• 4 egg yolks
• 200 g butter
• 1 teaspoon saffron threads, ground and steeped in 3 tablespoons hot water
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 2 tablespoons rose water
• 60 g slivered almonds and pistachios

Method

1. IT IS THICKENED WITH WHEAT SPROUT AND EGG YOLK, WHICH IS WHAT MAKES IT A BRITTLE RATHER THAN A CARAMEL. Its article gives the ingredients in order and the first two are the ones nobody would guess: wheat sprout and flour, then egg yolks, rose water, sugar, butter or oil, saffron, cardamom and slivered almond and pistachio. Sugar and butter alone would give you toffee. The sprouted wheat and the flour put starch into it and the yolks put protein and emulsifier in, so the mixture sets to something opaque, short and crisp that snaps and crumbles rather than something clear that bends and sticks to your teeth. The other sohan on this site has no cereal in it and behaves completely differently.
2. THE WHEAT SPROUT IS THE HARD INGREDIENT TO FIND AND MALT IS THE SUBSTITUTE. Sprouting wheat is described on the Samanu page, as on its own page, which needs a kilo of it; for this you want a fraction. Malt extract is the same sugars from the same process and is sold in jars.
3. THE YOLKS GO IN OFF THE HEAT AND ARE WHISKED HARD. Four, beaten into the warm mixture once it is off the flame and stirred continuously. Added to a boiling pan they scramble instantly and the batch is finished.
4. THE SYRUP IS TAKEN TO HARD CRACK, AND A THERMOMETER IS WORTH USING. Sugar and water to 150C. This is what makes it brittle when cold; ten degrees under and it stays chewy.
5. THE BUTTER IS ADDED GRADUALLY OR IT SPLITS. Two hundred grams in four or five pieces, each one stirred in completely before the next.
6. THE SAFFRON IS A FULL TEASPOON AND IT IS THE COLOUR AND THE NAME. Its article calls it a saffron brittle toffee. Ground and steeped, stirred in at the end with the rose water and cardamom.
7. IT IS SPOONED INTO DISCS, NOT POURED INTO A SLAB. Dessertspoonfuls onto parchment, flattened slightly, with the nut slivers pressed on while still soft. Left to set hard at room temperature for an hour.
8. THE VARIANTS ARE MANY AND ITS ARTICLE LISTS THEM. Honey, sesame, halwa, almond, gazi, loghmeh, butter, cotton candy and dessert sohan. The honey one has its own page here. Its article places this one in Qom.

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