Reshteh Khoshkar is a traditional cookie originally made in the northern Iranian province of Gilan, especially in the holy month of Ramadan. It is usually served during the fast-breaking meal at dusk. The cookie has been around for about three centuries.
When Ramadan begins, Reshth Khoshkar hits the shelves across the whole province, especially in Taher-Gurab region and the provincial capital of Rasht.
Depending on the quality of the product, each shop is patronized by special customers.
How To Make Reshteh Khoshkar
Reshteh Khoshkar’s main ingredients are rice, sugar, walnut and spices such as cardamom and cinnamon.
The cookie is made on a hot copper tray, and after it is bought and brought home, it needs to be sautéed in a little butter or oil. Afterwards, it is put in a sherbet made with water, sugar, cinnamon and cardamom. After a few seconds, the cookie becomes sweet and can be served.
Ingredients For Reshteh Khoshkar
| Water | 4 cups |
| Cinnamon | a dessert spoonful |
| Ground walnut | 100 gr |
| Ground cardamom | as much as needed |
| Ground rice | 2 cups |
| Liquid oil | for frying |
| Sugar | as much as needed |
Recipe for Reshteh Khoshkar
Mix the water and ground rice and set the mixture aside for a few hours. Then remove the extra water in the mixture. Put the dough in the special container used to make Reshteh Khoshkar.
While the copper tray is on mild-temperature fire, apply frying oil on it using clean cloth. Put your fingers on every single hole on the container, put it on the tray and remove your fingers all at once. Then draw thin lines around the perimeter and at the centre of the tray.
After a few seconds, remove it and leave it on a clean piece of cloth. Immediately, fold the four corners inside in such a way that each corner is overlaid with another. Put part of the dough on one side of it, and repeat the procedure until the last part is put on the last folded corner.
Then heat the oil and fry pieces of Reshteh Khoshkar until they become gold in colour. Then soak them in sherbet. Now the Reshteh Khoshkar is ready to be served.
Ingredients for the Sherbet:
| Water | 1.5 glasses |
| Cinnamon | a dessert spoonful |
| Sugar | as much as needed |
Recipe for the Sherbet:
Mix the water and sugar and place it on the oven. After a few minutes, remove it from the oven and add cinnamon powder to it. Then mix the walnut, cardamom, sugar and a little ginger powder.
Important tips for making Reshteh Khoshkar
To prepare the cookie, the basic dough needs to be smooth, fluid and non-lumpy. You’d better sieve the dough once.
In case you don’t have a special pastry comb available, you can take a mineral water bottle, create three small holes on the lid using a hot needle, or you need to get a similar tool.
Following the first phase of cooking, you can freeze the material for two months inside a container with lid. You can take it out of the freezer and fry it around 30 minutes before eating the cookies.
Lubricate the pan after frying two or three pieces of Reshteh Khoshkar.
If you want to have diet Reshteh Khoshkar, eliminate the syrup.
You can decorate the cookie with chopped walnut or Pistachio powder when the cookie is ready.
