Nishalda

Nishalda is a white, rich, foam-like sweet made in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. It is also called Nisholda in Uzbek and nishollo (Нишолло) in Tajik, among other names. When it is scooped from a large pot into a dish, the glossy foam stretches in thick ribbons. Rather than being picked up piece by piece like a baked, set meringue, it is a confection served in a state close to cream.

Whipping egg whites with a plant root decoction

The basic ingredients are egg whites, a syrup made by boiling sugar, and a liquid made by simmering a plant root. The root is known by names such as etmak and yetmak. It is washed, chopped, boiled in water, strained and cooled before use. The egg whites, with the root liquid added, are whipped, the syrup is mixed in little by little, and whipping continues further.

With this confection, the job is not finished once air has been incorporated at the start. Mixing continues until the syrup no longer separates from the foam and pools at the bottom, and the whole mixture comes together evenly. Whether the mixture stretches when a wooden spatula is lifted is also a clue to its readiness. The amount and concentration of the sugar, the root decoction and the way of mixing all affect the density of the white foam and how long it holds its shape.

The plant root is not merely an aromatic ingredient; it is used as a material that supports whipping. The sweet is made through three steps: simmering the root, incorporating air into the egg whites and mixing in the syrup. The addition of a root decoction to a sweet of only egg whites and sugar is what characterizes the method of making nishalda. In botany, Allochrusa gypsophiloides, a plant of the pink family (Caryophyllaceae), is recorded as one of its source plants. The saponins contained in the root are foaming compounds that act at the surface of water. Even roots called by the same local name are not necessarily the same species in every region. There are also other recipes (the proportions of ingredients and the method) that use a licorice decoction or a small amount of gelatin.

Traditional Uzbek tools include the chilchoʻp, a whisk made of bundled mulberry or quince twigs. The bundle of twigs is moved around in the pot to incorporate air into the egg whites and root liquid. Whipping egg whites with root decoction in a pot using a bundle of twigs requires keeping the hands moving for a long time. It is work that contrasts with the light appearance of the foam. Some recipes add citric acid or vanilla, adjusting not only the sweetness but also the flavor.

Spring celebrations and the table for breaking the fast

The times when nishalda is often seen include Navruz, the spring New Year, and Ramadan. The former is celebrated around the spring equinox, while the latter follows the lunar calendar and so moves through the seasons. The same white confection is spoken of both as a spring sweet and as a sweet of the fasting month because its associations with the two occasions overlap.

During Ramadan, it is prepared together with bread, tea and other foods for iftar, the meal after sunset that breaks the fast. In markets, the white, rich foam is sold from large pots and portioned into dishes. Unlike individually wrapped candies, it is a sweet that involves scooping from the pot even at the time of purchase.

Soliha Shukrova, a vendor at Chorsu Bazaar interviewed by the local newspaper Daryo in 2021, says she grew up in a family in Bukhara that has made sumalak and nishalda for generations, came to Tashkent with her family, and sells them from winter to spring. Another vendor talks about a memory of the groom’s side presenting a tub of nishalda to the bride’s side at a wedding, and about a business that takes orders and makes it outside of Ramadan as well. The period when it appears in large quantities for festivals and the times when it is eaten at home or by those who order it do not necessarily coincide.

Among Bukharian Jews, too, a sweet called nishalawh has been passed down. Rozeeta Mavashev, who grew up in Brooklyn, New York, writes that when the eighth night of Pesach, the Passover, came to an end, her mother whipped eggs, sugar and other ingredients and served the result with freshly baked bread. Tearing the bread and dipping it into the white sweet was a celebration of returning, after the festival, to a life with bread. Beyond the Central Asian tables linked with Ramadan and Navruz, it is a sweet that has also been passed down in households in places people migrated to, each following its own calendar.

In Tajikistan, too, a similar white sweet is made under the name nishollo. Names and ways of adding aroma vary, but the basic method of combining egg whites, syrup and a root liquid that aids whipping is shared. Tracing similarly named confections in various places reveals not merely shared ingredients but a common custom of preparing a white sweet for the celebratory table.

The sequence of simmering the root and cooling the liquid, whipping it with egg whites, and adding syrup little by little. Original diagram by Sweetlore. It shows a representative composition and does not prescribe the proportions or tools of every region.

Glossary