Bastani: The Persian Ice Cream With Some Truly Unique Flavors

Americans like to think they've got ice cream all figured out, but we could learn a lot from the Middle East. While we lean into loading up our pints and cones with candy, caramel, and even salty snacks to flavor our frozen desserts, Iranians go their own way with subtle, sweet bastani, which is an ice cream made with rose water, saffron, and pistachio.

Bastani is a custard-based ice cream with a long history in the Middle East. In fact, it is probably one of the oldest flavors of ice cream in the world since the origins of the frozen treat can be traced back to the Persian Empire around 500 BCE. Saffron, which is native to that part of the world, gives bastani a golden color, and the flavor of the spice mixed with rose water and pistachio creates a sublime, aromatic combination that is truly memorable and unique. It's not all that common to find bastani in the U.S., but if you know where to look, you can try it for yourself. It's also not particularly tricky to make it yourself or to create something similar.

In case you haven't noticed, Middle Eastern food is becoming pretty popular in the U.S. lately. Food Technology Magazine reported in 2020 that more people are exploring the spices and aromas of the region as they look for new ways to use ingredients at home, and it goes deeper than the average container of hummus or falafel. Take a look at any trendy menu these days, and you're bound to find a meze plate, shakshuka, or something spiced with sumac and cumin. So, if you're into eating on trend, bastani is the perfectly cool finish to any Middle Eastern meal.

Bastani is traditionally made with some combination of milk, sugar, egg yolk, rose water, saffron, and vanilla. Some recipes also include frozen clumps of clotted cream as well as salep (sometimes called sahlep or sahlab), which is a flour made from orchid tubers that gives the ice cream a thicker, chewier texture. If you're interested in making it at home, there are lots of recipes on the internet. Or you can make a simple vanilla ice cream base and flavor it with bloomed saffron and rose water, then fold in some chopped pistachios before churning it in an ice cream maker. The hardest part of making bastani is finding the ingredients because it's important to source a good quality grade of saffron to really get the full effect.

If you're not into making ice cream from scratch, but you'd like to taste bastani for yourself, you still have some options. There are a few companies that distribute bastani in the U.S., including Saffron & Rose and Mashti Malone (both based in California). Scour the frozen section next time you're shopping at your favorite international grocery store that carries Middle Eastern and Persian ingredients for these brands or other regional makers, and if they don't have bastani, ask if they can get some. If you want to be extra authentic, be sure to get some thin waffle cookies so that you can squish your bastani between them to make a fancy ice cream sandwich.

If you can't find a container of bastani – aka bastani sonnati, which translates to "traditional ice cream" – to take home, you might also have some luck at a restaurant or bakery. Do an internet search for Middle Eastern bakeries and restaurants in your city or region (either authentic or inspired), and ask around among chefs and foodies where to find the best Iranian food. Wherever there are Middle Eastern eats, chances are there will be some bastani.