Persian desserts are usually light and delicious. Some of these desserts, such as Khagineh, Shole Zard, and halva, are easy to make, and others, such as baklava, require more time and patience. Persian saffron ice cream or Bastani Sonnati is one of those delicious Persian desserts that you must try at least once in your lifetime.
About This Recipe
Bastani Sonnati (which translates to “Traditional Ice Cream”) is a kind of Persian ice cream. It’s sweet, creamy, crunchy, and full of saffron flavor. A favorite summer treat all over the country made with milk, sugar, saffron, salep, frozen cream chunks, and slivered nuts.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Easy to make: You don’t need an ice cream maker to make Persian saffron ice cream. This ice cream is super creamy and smooth. The frozen cream chunks add such a lovely crunch to the ice cream.
- Packed with flavor: This Persian saffron ice cream is super creamy, easy to make, and has a mild saffron flavor.
What You Need To Make Bastani Sonnati
- Full-fat milk: Milk adds creaminess and a smooth texture to the ice cream.
- Cream: Use heavy cream for this recipe. Bastani Sonnati is full of crunchy pieces of frozen cream. Enjoy it spoon by spoon and let them slowly melt in your mouth.
- Sugar: Use granulated sugar to add sweetness.
- Rose water: Rose water adds a subtle floral aroma to the ice cream.
- Salep: Salep is a powder made from some species of orchid tubers. Salep gives a stretchy, chewy, and elastic texture to the ice cream.
- Saffron: Saffron gives a nice color, taste, and aroma to ice cream.
- Slivered pistachios: Pistachios give a nice crunch and unique taste to the saffron ice cream.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Choose a large and rimmed tray and pour the cream into the tray. Spread the cream into a thin layer, to a thickness of 2 mm. Put the tray in the freezer until the cream is hard.
- Using a mortar and pestle, grind down the saffron threads. Sprinkle ground saffron on 3 tablespoons of boiling water and set aside for 10-15 minutes.
- Pour milk into a pot and heat it up until it boils and then lower the heat.
- Add rose water and bloomed saffron to milk and stir.
- In a bowl, mix sugar and salep together.
- Add sugar and salep mixture to the milk and stir continuously for about 15 minutes until the sugar dissolves and the milk thickens.
- Transfer thickened milk mixture to a freezer-safe bowl or container and let it cool down to room temperature.
- Then cover the bowl with plastic and put it in the freezer for 30 minutes to chill.
- After 30 minutes remove it from the freezer and stir vigorously with a fork and break the ice crystals.
- Put the ice cream back in the freezer for another 30 minutes and then stir vigorously with a fork.
- Repeat this process every half hour until the ice cream becomes stretchy and starts to firm up.
- Take the frozen cream out of the freezer and cut the cream into small pieces with a knife and add it to the ice cream.
- Add the slivered pistachios to the ice cream. Stir the ice cream until the frozen cream pieces and the pistachios are completely mixed into the ice cream.
- After the last mixing, place back the ice cream in the freezer for at least 3-4 hours.
- Scoop the ice cream and serve it.
Tips & Tricks
- Use high-fat cream to make traditional Persian ice cream.
- In order to make this ice cream recipe, you should use salep. The elasticity of Bastani Sonnati depends on the quality of the salep. If the salep you used is not high quality, your ice cream will freeze.
- Also, if you do not measure the amount of salep accurately, you will not get the best result.
Did you like the Bastani Sonnati recipe? Try my Baklava pancakes recipe as well! Leave your comment below and If you make this recipe, be sure to tag your photos #yummynotes 
Ingredients
- 4 cups full-fat milk
- 2 cups granulated white sugar
- 100 gr heavy cream
- 1/4 cup rose water
- 1/2 teaspoon ground saffron threads
- 3 tablespoons slivered pistachios
Instructions
Step 1
Choose a large and rimmed tray and pour the cream into the tray. Spread the cream into a thin layer, to a thickness of 2 mm. Put the tray in the freezer until the cream is hard.
Step 2
Using a mortar and pestle, grind down the saffron threads. Sprinkle ground saffron on 3 tablespoons of boiling water and set aside for 10-15 minutes.
Step 3
Pour milk into a pot and heat it up until it boils and then lower the heat.
Step 4
Add rose water and bloomed saffron to milk and stir.
Step 5
In a bowl, mix sugar and salep together.
Step 6
Add sugar and salep mixture to the milk and stir continuously for about 15 minutes until the sugar dissolves and the milk thickens.
Step 7
Transfer thickened milk mixture to a freezer-safe bowl or container and let it cool down to room temperature.
Step 8
Then cover the bowl with plastic and put it in the freezer for 30 minutes to chill.
Step 9
After 30 minutes remove it from the freezer and stir vigorously with a fork and break the ice crystals.
Step 10
Put the ice cream back in the freezer for another 30 minutes and then stir vigorously with a fork.
Step 11
Repeat this process every half hour until the ice cream becomes stretchy and starts to firm up.
Step 12
Take the frozen cream out of the freezer and cut the cream into small pieces with a knife and add it to the ice cream.
Step 13
Add the slivered pistachios to the ice cream. Stir the ice cream until the frozen cream pieces and the pistachios are completely mixed into the ice cream.
Step 14
After the last mixing, place back the ice cream in the freezer for at least 3-4 hours.
Step 15
Scoop the ice cream and serve it.
