Bastani Sonnati

Bastani is often served sandwiched between two thin crispy waffles

Bastani from Gilak at Holloway Road in London

Bastani Sonnati (meaning "classical ice cream") (Persian: بستنی سنتی‎‎), or simply Bastani, is a Persian ice cream made from milk, eggs, sugar, rose water, saffron, vanilla, and pistachios. Salep is also sometimes included as an ingredient. Bastani often contains flakes of frozen clotted cream. The milk is stirred until it is flocculated.

Ab-e havij (Persian: آب هویج‎‎), alternatively called havij bastani (Persian: هویج بستنی‎‎), is a mixture of carrot juice made into an ice cream float garnished with cinnamon, nutmeg, or other spices.

History

A yakhchal, an ancient type of ice house, in Yazd, Iran.

In the Persian Empire, people would pour syrups over snow called "fruit ice" (sorbet). The Greek Alexander the Great, who battled the Persians for 10 years, enjoyed "fruit ices" sweetened with honey and chilled with snow. In 400 BC, the Persians went further and invented a special chilled food, made from rose water and vermicelli, which was served during hot summers and is considered as the origin of the Iranian cold dessert, Faloodeh (Persian: پالوده‎‎).

See also

• Pistachio ice cream
• Faloodeh
• Kulfi
• Spumoni