Saffron water
Saffron water is used in many Persian dishes, from the humble Polo (rice) to more exotic Khoreshts (stews).
Most “saffron” sold in Western supermarkets is unfortunately not real saffron but some form of pink food dye. Avoid these at all costs. The best way of finding real Saffron is to go to your local Iranian shop and nicely ask them for real Iranian saffron and hope that the vendor is trustworthy.
Don’t think you have an Iranian shop around you? Most probably, you are wrong. If you live in a major or even a semi-major city in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, France, Sweden or Malaysia, there most certainly is an Iranian shop around you (though it may not always be easy to find them, seeing as most of them are still not listed anywhere online). If you can’t find an Iranian shop, there is a good chance that an Afghan shop will also have proper saffron. Unfortunately, in my experience, most Turkish or Arab local stores do not carry real saffron.
Saffron is expensive. It is the most expensive spice in the world, more expensive than gold. You only need a little bit for each dish though, and it is absolutely worth it!
Ingredients
- A few strands of saffron
- A suar cube
Method
Grind the saffron in a small mortar and pestle. In Iran, a single sugar cube is generally added to the saffron to help the grinding process as it adds friction.
Add 1–2 table spoons of boiling water to the ground saffron. Leave until the saffron is nearly solved in the water. You’ve now got saffron water!