Bastani

(Persian Saffron Ice Cream)

July: National Ice Cream Month

Before Highlander entered Islander’s life nearly three decades ago, she was friends at university with an Iranian-Persian Ph.D. student in the dorm. Ali M. used to joke and tell everyone that he would buy her hand in marriage with 12 white camels. She answered back that he could just buy her some ice cream! So they would walk off campus with a bunch of other dorm friends to an ice cream parlor and enjoy the frozen treats and everyone’s company. When Highlander moved into the same dorm a couple of years later, there were no hard feelings between him and Ali. In fact, he welcomed us in his physics lab where he was working on an experiment for his doctoral dissertation. And we all still went out to eat ice cream for a much needed study break afterwards! Always a funny guy, Ali said he wished the parlor could serve bastani as the 32nd flavor option. Bastani is a traditional Persian ice cream flavored with saffron, rosewater, cardamom and pistachios.

We do miss those dorm days and all our international university friends at the ice cream parlor. So we were happy to discover Persian and Middle Eastern restaurants where we now live and try bastani after all these years. Islander immediately searched for no churn bastani recipes and adapted one for our blog post. It is a delicious dessert to serve during the summer and throughout National Ice Cream Month.

Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups (1 pint) heavy whipping cream, divided use, cold
• saffron, generous pinch
• 1 tablespoon rose water
• 1/2 cup pistachio nuts, chopped
• 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk

Directions

In a small bowl, place two tablespoons of whipping cream. Heat in the microwave for 15 seconds. Stir in some saffron threads, pressing on the side of the bowl to release its flavor and color. Stir in the rose water. Chop the pistachio nuts into small pieces.

In a large bowl, pour the condensed milk. Stir in the saffron mixture. Beat the remaining whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Fold into the condensed milk mixture.

Stir in the pistachios. Place in a loaf pan or ice cream container. Cover and freeze for at least six hours or overnight. Remove from the freezer. Scoop into dessert dishes or wafer cones or serve with wafer sheets.

Notes

• Bastani is traditionally served with a wafer slice. The final food photo above shows a background of a wafer sheet that we bought at a Middle Eastern specialty grocery store. Bastani can be scooped in wafer ice cream cones for a similar taste.
• Search our blog for other no churn ice cream recipes.