Faloodeh
Faloodeh is a Persian frozen dessert with a very long history — it comes from a country where ice was carried down from the mountains and kept through the summer in domed ice houses called yakhchāl. It is fine rice noodles frozen in a rose-water syrup, served with lime juice. The texture is a surprise: icy and crunchy, yet springy from the noodles. It is light, entirely plant-based and deeply refreshing — in Shiraz it is eaten in the heat, sometimes with sour cherry syrup.
Your own work in that: 10 min.
- Syrup 15 min
- Noodles 15 min
- Freezing 240 min
- Serving 10 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneMake the syrup
Bring the water and sugar to the boil, stirring until dissolved, and boil 5 minutes. Take off the heat.
Ingredients: 100 g very fine rice vermicelli · 200 g sugar · 500 ml water · 3 tbsp rose water · 2 pcs limes
Add rose water
Stir the rose water into the hot syrup and cool it completely — fastest in a bowl set in cold water.
Ingredients: 100 g very fine rice vermicelli · 200 g sugar · 500 ml water · 3 tbsp rose water · 2 pcs limes
The syrup must be completely cold before freezing.Cook the noodles
Cook the rice noodles as the packet says (usually 3–4 minutes), until soft.
Ingredients: 100 g very fine rice vermicelli · 200 g sugar · 500 ml water · 3 tbsp rose water · 2 pcs limes
Fine noodles cook in minutes.Rinse the noodles
Drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking and wash off the starch. Drain thoroughly.
Ingredients: 100 g very fine rice vermicelli · 200 g sugar · 500 ml water · 3 tbsp rose water · 2 pcs limes
Cut the noodles
Snip the strands into 3–4 cm lengths with scissors so they can be eaten with a spoon.
Ingredients: 100 g very fine rice vermicelli · 200 g sugar · 500 ml water · 3 tbsp rose water · 2 pcs limes
Combine with the syrup
Mix the noodles with the cold syrup in a shallow dish (about 20 × 30 cm, a 2–3 cm layer) — the shallower it is, the faster it freezes.
Ingredients: 100 g very fine rice vermicelli · 200 g sugar · 500 ml water · 3 tbsp rose water · 2 pcs limes
Freeze, stirring
Freeze for 4 hours, stirring with a fork every 30 minutes. Nothing much happens in the first hour — the syrup is very sweet, so ice only starts to set after that. Stirring breaks up the crystals and gives the characteristic grainy texture.
Ingredients: 100 g very fine rice vermicelli · 200 g sugar · 500 ml water · 3 tbsp rose water · 2 pcs limes
Stir every half hour — this is not a smooth sorbet.Serve
Spoon the faloodeh into chilled glasses, squeeze over plenty of lime juice and scatter with pistachios and rose petals. Serve at once.
Ingredients: 30 g pistachios, chopped · 1 tsp dried rose petals (optional)
Before you start
Rose water
Buy food-grade rose water from Middle Eastern shops or the baking aisle — cosmetic rose water is not edible. Start with 2 tablespoons and adjust, since brands vary in strength.
With cherry syrup
In Iran faloodeh is often served with sour cherry syrup (sharbat-e albaloo) instead of lime. Pour it over just before serving.
Storage
It keeps 2 weeks in the freezer but sets into a solid block — break it up with a fork and leave 10 minutes at room temperature before serving.
