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SAFFRON RICE PUDDING - Zerdeli Sutlac (wedding pudding) - Zerde
 I have often dreamt of visiting Turkey and hopefully I will one day. Turkey is a land that offers many vacation attractions. It is a country that appeals to all tastes with a tremendous range of archaeological, historic, scenic and recreational attractions. It is also known for it's sweets, Tatlilar is the word for desserts. We are on our way to our third virtual tour with Joan of FOODalogue. This time, it's Turkey and I am so excited to share this post with you. "Eat Sweetly and Speak Sweetly" is an old Turkish saying. It shows that sweets and desserts have always been an important part of Turkish cuisine. They even have a traditional festival called "Seker Baymari". When I was in the corporate world, I had a lot of dealings with Turkey and I kept in touch with a few people I met through my work. In 1991, I received a gift from one of our clients, The Delights of Turkish Cooking by Neset Eren. Twenty years later, it is still part of my wonderful collection of cookbooks.  I decided to make a dessert for this post; Zerde or as it is also called, Wedding Pudding. I Googled and found that there is another variation called, Zerdeli Sutlac (Saffron-Rice Pudding.), courtesy of Binnu's Turkish Cookbook. The first just calls for the pudding itself. The second calls for 2 puddings. I decided on the latter because it really made a beautiful presentation and I am hoping that I will do it justice.  You will also be treated to a cup of Turkish Coffee, a fortune reading and... Step One - Rice Pudding: 4 tbsp. short grain rice, washed and drained 1 cup of water 1/2 cup of whole milk 1/2 cup of half and half cream 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract 1-1/2 tsp. corn starch, melted in 2 tbsp. water  Cook the rice in the water for about 15 minutes until softened over low heat. Add milk, cream, vanilla and corn starch. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until thick. Pour into small glass bowls and let it cool down. Step Two - Saffron Pudding: 1/4 cup short grain rice, washed, drained 3 cups of water, to boil rice 3 cups of water, to cook Zerde with 1 cup of sugar 1/2 tsp. saffron, soaked in 2 tbsp warm water 3 tbsp. corn starch, dissolve in 3 tbsp. water 2 tbsp. Rose Water  Boil the rice with 3 cups of water until softened, drain. Bring to boil the sugar with 3 cups of water. Turn heat down to medium-low. Add the cooked rice, saffron with water and dissolved corn starch. Stir constantly and cook until it thickens. Add the rose water, but don't stop stirring. Turn the heat off. Pour equally over the pudding and let it cool down. Garnish: I used Pomegranate arils, ground pistachios and toasted pine nuts.  Turkish Coffee or Turk Kahvesi: This is prepared by boiling finely powdered roast coffee beans in a cezve (small pot). According to your taste you can have it three ways, sade without sugar, az sekerli (a little sugar) and the way I like it, sekerdi (sweet). It is served in a small cup, you wait for the dregs to settle and drink up. You do not drink the dregs. There is another use for them.     Served here with Turkish Delight Now for the fun part: the coffee dregs left in the cup are usually used to read your fortune fai. This is a social activity much enjoyed by women.   My fortune was that I would meet a tall and dark stranger...I married a short, stocky guy which I love dearly... Every country has their superstitions. In Turkey it is called Nazar, the evil eye. They even paint it on their airplanes. I have collected a few through the years, even in jewelry.   These are mine that I received from friends. The one on the book was brought back by Joan of FOODalogue from one of her Turkish trips.  My friend, Kerry  From Sara, Spain  From my husband, Phil (the short, stocky guy) Everyone that know me, knows that I enjoy a good drink and we cannot finish this post without telling you about: Raki: This is probably the most popular alcoholic drink amongst the Turkish people. Raki is made form different fruits, but raisin is the most important one. It's history goes back 300 years and the art of distillation had started in the Arab world, which spread to neighboring countries. With the addition of anise seeds the Turkish Raki is what it is today. You serve it straight or with ice and water when you will see it turn cloudy. I took pictures of both, I like it straight.  chocolate covered pistachios  AFIYET OLSUN! BUEN PROVECHO! ?  related searches : Saffron
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