Isfahan Khoresht-e Mast
Isfahan's wedding dish of saffron yogurt, without the lamb, as a golden flip.
Ingredients
| Ingredient | ml | oz |
|---|---|---|
| Cognac or aged grape brandy | 45 ml | 1½ oz |
| Plain whole-milk yogurt | 30 ml | 1 oz |
| Honey syrup · homemade, P12 | 15 ml | ½ oz |
| Saffron infusion · homemade, P14 | 10 ml | ⅓ oz |
| Culinary rose water | 2 drops | |
| Aquafaba · homemade, P18 | 15 ml | ½ oz |
Ounces are rounded; measure in ml for accuracy. Homemade items link to their own page.
small chilled coupe
dry shake, then shaken with ice, served up
a line of barberries and pistachio slivers across the foam
The story
Isfahan has the strangest elegant dish in Iran: khoresht-e mast, strained yogurt cooked with saffron, sugar and lamb neck until the meat disappears into it, then chilled and served at weddings in a shallow bowl under a drift of barberries and pistachio. It began as a dish for the Safavid court and is eaten now at the start of a feast, cold, sweet, saffron-yellow. Take away the lamb and what remains is a saffron yogurt cream. This is that cream, shaken into a flip with brandy, honey and a drop of rose, and dressed exactly as the bowl would be.
Method
- Chill a small coupe.
- Dry shake the brandy, yogurt, honey syrup, saffron infusion, rose water and aquafaba without ice for 10 seconds.
- Add ice and shake hard for 12 seconds.
- Double-strain into the coupe and let the foam settle.
- Lay a neat line of barberries and pistachio slivers across the foam.
How it tastes
Thick, cool and golden: yogurt’s tang against honey and saffron, the brandy warming underneath, rose on the nose, and the little sour bursts of barberry on top. A dessert in six sips.
Persian taste: shirin (sweet), charb (rich), aromatic
Pair it with
- Food: Serve it where Isfahan serves the dish: at the start of a feast, before the rice.
- Sweet: Gaz, the Isfahan nougat, or a piece of poolaki.
- Snack: Pistachio-stuffed dates
Variations
Lighter
Replace the yogurt with 30 ml still doogh (P32) for a thinner, saltier version.
Egg white
15 ml egg white in place of the aquafaba for a richer foam.
Alcohol-free
Leave out the brandy and add 20 ml milk: a cold saffron lassi.
Balancing tips
- Strained (Greek-style) yogurt makes a richer drink; thin yogurt makes a thinner one. Both work.
- Saffron should colour the foam; 10 ml of a proper infusion is enough.
- Barberries first, then pistachio, in a straight line; the look is the point.
Allergens
- Dairy (yogurt)
- Honey
- Tree nuts (pistachio)
- Contains alcohol. Please drink responsibly.
Development notes
- Status: original recipe draft v0.1, not yet taste-tested.
- Test yogurt at 30 and 45 ml; check that the foam holds for two minutes.
- Sources: Wikipedia, “Khoresht mast”; Labsalliebe recipe.
Watch it mixed
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Isfahan, imagined
