Logan St x Parwana - Shirpera Recipe

SHIRPERA p.152

Makes 24 (Afghan Milk Fudge)
440 g (2 cups) caster (superfine) sugar
2 teaspoons ground cardamom
1 tablespoon rosewater
1 tablespoon butter
100 g (3½ oz) slivered almonds
50 g (1¾ oz) coarsely chopped pistachios
670 g (6 cups) full cream (whole)
milk powder
50 g (1¾ oz) finely chopped pistachios
Handful of slivered pistachios, to decorate
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 sweetshops called qanadis, which sell different types of sweets such as halwa, hardboiled 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.

Lightly grease a 30 cm x 20 cm (12 in x 8 in) baking tray and line it with baking paper
overhanging at each end to help lift out the shirpera when it has set.

Mix the sugar and 250 ml (1 cup) water in a saucepan over high heat to dissolve the sugar. Bring to the boil and cook without stirring for 5 minutes, or until the syrup thickens and
reaches between 110–112°C (225–233°F) on a sugar thermometer. 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 with 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.

Spread the mixture evenly in the baking tray with 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. 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.

Images and text from Parwana by Durkhanai Ayubi; recipes by Farida Ayubi with assistance from Fatema Ayubi. Photography by Alicia Taylor. Murdoch Books RRP $50.00.