Sohan

Ingredients

Base

• 100 gwheat sprout flour, jooneh gandom
• 100 gplain flour
• 250 gsugar
• 100 mlwater
• 150 gclarified butter or ghee

To flavour

• 1 teaspoonground saffron, steeped in 3 tablespoons hot water
• 1 teaspoonground cardamom
• 2 tablespoonsrosewater

To top

• 80 gslivered pistachios
• 40 gslivered almonds

Equipment

• a heavy pan, ideally copper
• a sugar thermometer
• a flat oiled tray or marble slab

Directions

1. Keep children and pets out of the kitchen while it cooks. Have a bowl of cold water ready in case of a splash. Oil a large flat tray or a marble slab thoroughly. Put the slivered nuts in a bowl within easy reach. Lay out two oiled spoons for shaping the discs. Put the sugar and the water into the heavy pan. Stir them over a low heat until the sugar dissolves.
2. Brush any sugar crystals off the sides with a wet brush. Once it is clear, stop stirring it altogether. Bring it up to a steady boil without touching it. Let it cook until the thermometer reads 120C. Melt the clarified butter in a separate small pan. Stir both flours into the melted butter off the heat.
3. Work them into a smooth paste with no lumps in it. Add it a spoonful at a time, stirring hard after each. Keep stirring constantly with a long wooden spoon. Cooking it out takes patience and steady heat. Stir it without stopping for the next twenty minutes. Pour in the saffron water, the rosewater and the cardamom.
4. Stir them through until the colour is even and golden. Testing it decides whether it is ready to pour. Drop a small spoonful onto the oiled tray. Let it sit for one minute and then press it with a finger. It should set firm and snap rather than bend.
5. Take the pan off the heat and work quickly from here. Spoon rounds of the mixture onto the oiled tray. Each one should be about the size of a large coin.
6. Leave space between them because they spread as they settle. Scatter slivered pistachios and almonds over each disc at once. Press the nuts down lightly so they stick as it sets. Work through the whole pan before the mixture stiffens. Reheat the pan gently if it sets before you finish.
7. Leave the discs on the tray until they are completely cold. They will take about an hour to set hard. Lift them off with a thin palette knife. Layer them between sheets of greaseproof paper in a tin. Kept dry and sealed they last for several weeks.

Technique

• Sohan-e Qom is the most famous version and is protected as a regional speciality.
• There is also sohan asali, a separate Iranian sweet made from honey, almonds and saffron with no sprouted wheat flour, and sohan-e Isfahan, which is softer.

Substitutions

• If sprouted wheat flour cannot be found, some cooks substitute an equal weight of plain flour, though this changes the flavour substantially and the result is honestly a different sweet.

Variations

• Some makers use only pistachio on top.
• A version made without saffron is paler and less expensive.
• Sohan asali replaces the flour paste with honey and whole almonds.

History

Speciality of Qom, sold in round tins and bought by pilgrims visiting the shrine.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sohan?

Sohan is a dessert from Iran: saffron and pistachio brittle, snapped in pieces from a copper tray. Speciality of Qom, sold in round tins and bought by pilgrims visiting the shrine.

How long does Sohan take to make?

Sohan takes 30 minutes of preparation and 40 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes about 20 discs. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Sohan?

Yes, within limits. If sprouted wheat flour cannot be found, some cooks substitute an equal weight of plain flour, though this changes the flavour substantially and the result is honestly a different sweet.

What is the most important thing to get right in Sohan?

Stir them through until the colour is even and golden. Testing it decides whether it is ready to pour. Drop a small spoonful onto the oiled tray. Let it sit for one minute and then press it with a finger. It should set firm and snap rather than bend.