AI-generated image
Masghati
Rosewater and saffron starch sweet
Masghati (مسقطی): rosewater and saffron starch sweet from Lar and Shiraz
Masghati takes its name from Muscat, from where traders brought the recipe to the port towns of the Persian Gulf, and today Lar and Shiraz are famous for it. It is a clear, firm, jelly-like sweet of starch, sugar and rosewater, tinted gold with saffron and studded with pistachios, made for Nowruz guests and for gifts. It sets enough to cut into neat diamonds but stays tender. A common mistake is not cooking the starch long enough: it must turn from milky to clear, or the masghati tastes floury and weeps. Chef's tip: stir with a flat wooden spatula and scrape the bottom constantly, because the paste catches suddenly in the last few minutes.
- Total time
- 45 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 12
Ingredients
- 3 ½ oz cornflour (pure corn starch)
- 3 ¼ cups cold water
- 10 ½ oz white sugar
- ¼ tsp saffron threadsground and bloomed in 2 tbsp hot water
- 3 tbsp sunflower oil
- 4 tbsp rosewater
- ½ tsp ground cardamom
- 1 ⅜ oz slivered pistachios
- ⅔ oz slivered almonds (optional)
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Spices & pantry
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Lightly oil a 20 × 20 cm dish. Whisk the 3 ½ oz cornflour (pure corn starch) into half the 1 ¾ cups cold water in a bowl until smooth with no lumps.
3 minStep 2: In a heavy non-stick pan, heat the rest of the 1 ¾ cups cold water with the 10 ½ oz white sugar until dissolved and just boiling. Whisk in the starch mixture and cook over a medium-low heat, stirring constantly, for 10 minutes, until thick and starting to turn translucent.
12 minStep 3: Add the ¼ tsp saffron threads and 3 tbsp sunflower oil and keep stirring and scraping for 15–20 minutes more, until the paste is completely clear, shiny and pulls away from the sides of the pan in one mass.
18 minStep 4: Stir in the 4 tbsp rosewater and ½ tsp ground cardamom and most of the 1 ⅜ oz slivered pistachios and ⅔ oz slivered almonds; cook 2 minutes more.
2 minStep 5: Spread into the oiled dish, smooth the top with a wet spatula and scatter the rest of the nuts. Cool, then chill for 3 hours until firm. Cut into diamonds with an oiled knife and keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 150 kcal
- Protein
- 1 g
- Carbs
- 33 g
- Fat
- 3 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does masghati take?
- About 45 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 35 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 12 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of cornflour (pure corn starch)?
- Arrowroot or potato starch, same amount.
- What can I use instead of white sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Kartoshka cakeCocoa and cake crumb truffles
Soviet cafés and school canteens sold these knobbly brown 'potatoes' for a few kopecks, and they began as a thrifty way to use up sponge and biscuit trimmings at the bakery. Crumbs are bound with butter and sweetened condensed milk, flavoured with cocoa and vanilla, shaped into little potatoes, rolled in cocoa and finished with two dabs of pale butter cream for the sprouts. They are fudgy and dense like a brownie truffle, need no oven, and children love making them. Traditional bakers added a spoonful of rum, an optional extra for adult batches only; this version is alcohol-free with vanilla. The usual slip is coarse crumbs, which make the potatoes crack, so blitz them as fine as sand. Chef's tip: chill the shaped potatoes for at least 20 minutes so they hold their shape and slice cleanly.
Russian
Undu walaluFried urad dal rings in treacle
Walalu means bangles, and these dark, sticky rings of fried urad dal soaked in kithul treacle are a sweet that Sinhala families bring out for Avurudu and for special almsgivings, often made in large batches by an aunt known for her steady hand. A thick, fluffy paste of ground black gram is piped into loops and fried until crisp, then plunged straight into warm treacle, so the rings stay crunchy on the outside while drinking up the syrup. They taste a little like a darker, smokier jalebi, with a toffee finish from the palm treacle. Watery batter is what ruins them; it spreads into flat blobs, so grind the soaked dal with as little water as possible and beat it until light. This recipe uses no asafoetida, so it is naturally gluten free. Chef's tip: pipe the rings onto small squares of baking paper and lower them into the oil paper and all; the paper peels away in seconds.
Sri Lankan
MarquesitasCheese and cajeta crepes
Evening in Mérida's Plaza Grande means the smell of marquesitas: thin batter pressed in hot hinged irons until crisp, then rolled like a cigar around grated Edam cheese and a sweet filling such as cajeta, chocolate-hazelnut spread or jam. Edam came to the Yucatán through the port trade with the Netherlands and became part of the local cooking, and the salty-sweet combination is the whole point. At home you can cook them in a thin, wide frying pan. Edam is usually made with animal rennet, so check the label or use a vegetarian Gouda-style cheese. Chef's tip: roll while the crêpe is still in the pan and hot; within seconds it hardens and will crack.
Mexican