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Parwana’s Shirpera

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Credit: Emmaline Zanelli

Shirpera is a nut-filled sweet with a texture that sits somewhere between a crumbly nougat and fudge. In Afghanistan, during celebrations such as Eid, people usually buy shirpera from specialty sweet shops called qanadis, which sell different types of sweets such as halwa, hard candies, chocolates, and sugared almonds called noql. Shirpera requires overnight resting for the sweet to fully set. This is one of my sister Fatema’s recipes.

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Shirpera

• shellfish-free
• fish-free
• alcohol-free
• vegetarian
• peanut-free
• pork-free
• pescatarian
• balanced
• gluten-free
• egg-free
• soy-free
• wheat-free
• low-sodium
• red-meat-free

Per serving, based on 22 servings. (% daily value)

• Calories 322
• Fat 14.4 g (22.1%)
• Saturated 6.2 g (31.1%)
• Carbs 39.4 g (13.1%)
• Fiber 1.3 g (5.2%)
• Sugars 37.2 g
• Protein 10.8 g (21.5%)
• Sodium 119.2 mg (5.0%)

Ingredients

• 2 2/3 cups

  sugar

• 2 teaspoons

  ground cardamom

• 1 tablespoon

  rosewater

• 1 tablespoon

  butter

• 1 cup

  slivered almonds

• Scant 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pistachios

• 5 1/2 cups

  whole milk powder

• Scant 1/2 cup finely chopped pistachios

• Handful of slivered pistachios, to decorate

Instructions

1. Lightly grease a 12 inch x 8 inch sheet cake pan and line it with parchment paper overhanging at each end to help lift out the shirpera when it has set.

2. Mix the sugar and 1 cup water in a saucepan over high heat to dissolve the sugar. Bring to a boil and cook without stirring for 5 minutes, or until the syrup thickens and reaches between 225-233°F on a candy thermometer.

3. Remove the pan from the heat and pour the syrup into a large bowl. Add the cardamom, rosewater, butter, almonds, and coarsely chopped pistachios. Mix to combine using a wooden spoon, then add the milk powder in batches, mixing to incorporate between additions. It's important to work quickly when stirring in the milk powder because, as the mixture cools between each addition, it will become firmer and more difficult to mix. The consistency of the finished mixture should be thick and soft, but holding its form, rather than runny or very hard when poured from a spoon.

4. Spread the mixture evenly in the pan using a metal spatula, then dampen your hands and smooth the surface. Sprinkle the finely chopped pistachios over the top, gently pushing them into the fudge. Decorate with slivered pistachios, then set aside overnight, uncovered, at room temperature to completely set and become firm.

5. Traditionally, shirpera is cut into diamond shapes or squares and piled high on decorative platters to serve. It can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Recipe Notes

Recipes reprinted with permission from Parwana, courtesy of Interlink Books. Photography by Alicia Taylor, courtesy of Interlink Books.

Durkhanai Ayubi

Contributor

Durkhanai Ayubi is an Australian based writer and restaurateur. Her first book, Parwana: Recipes and Stories from an Afghan Kitchen, reflects on the relationship between food, place, history, culture and rolling identities. She is a Fellow of the global Atlantic Institute Fellowship based at Oxford University.

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Source : food