{"id":8513,"date":"2026-10-26T18:39:15","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T09:39:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/parade.kyoto\/?post_type=sweetlore&p=8513"},"modified":"2026-10-31T18:51:03","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T09:51:03","slug":"nan-e-berenji","status":"publish","type":"sweetlore","link":"https:\/\/parade.kyoto\/en\/sweetlore\/nan-e-berenji\/","title":{"rendered":"Nan-e Berenji"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Nan-e Berenji (\u0646\u0627\u0646 \u0628\u0631\u0646\u062c\u06cc) is an Iranian cookie made with rice flour. A pattern is pressed into the surface of each small disc, which is topped with black seeds or finely ground pistachios. The cookie breaks easily when held and crumbles when bitten, and the aromas of rose water and cardamom come through in the dough. It is known as a representative souvenir of Kermanshah in western Iran and is also counted among the sweets of Nowruz.<\/p>\n

A literal translation of the name is \u201crice bread,\u201d but thinking of the bread served with everyday meals makes it hard to understand what this sweet is like. Here, \u201cnan\u201d is used as part of the sweet’s name. The dough is made not from cooked grains of rice but from finely ground rice flour.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

An example of nan-e berenji, a traditional sweet of Qazvin (2014, location unknown). Photo: Omid hendupur<\/a> \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a> \/ CC BY-SA 3.0<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

From Kermanshah to the New Year in Other Cities<\/h2>\n

Nan-e berenji is a specialty of Kermanshah, but Qazvin and Shiraz also have well-known nan-e berenji. Some versions are finished whitish, while others are colored yellow with saffron. A scholarly description of Iranian foods also records a variant called qors-e khorshid, the \u201csun cookie,\u201d in which saffron dough is filled with almonds and sugar and marked with a thimble. Rice flour cookies also vary in color, filling and shape.<\/p>\n

Cookies packed in souvenir boxes and small cookies baked for the New Year and served to guests also differ in size and decoration. Rice flour cookies have been passed down both through the travel custom of bringing home sweets from the places famous for them and through New Year hospitality at home.<\/p>\n

\n\"A\n
A confectionery shop in Kermanshah (July 14, 2010). The photographer titled the photo \u201cA person making nan-e berenji,\u201d and various sweets are displayed in the shop. Photo: mehdi hosseini \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a> \/ CC BY 3.0<\/a>. The image was obtained from the distribution source. No changes to the content and no cropping were made for this use.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Fine Flour and a Fragile Dough<\/h2>\n

The basic ingredients are rice flour, sugar, fat, eggs and flavorings. The dough does not become elastic like the dough for wheat-flour cookies. The fine flour and the fat give it a crumbly texture. The fineness of the flour and the sifting process affect how the dough feels in the mouth. Records of Iranian cookie making describe sifting rice flour and chickpea flour through a fine sieve or cloth.<\/p>\n

Some modern home recipes (the proportions of ingredients and the method) rest the dough in the refrigerator so that the moisture spreads through the rice flour. However, this does not mean that every version of the sweet must be refrigerated.<\/p>\n

Some versions use Kermanshah’s dairy fat or ghee as the fat. Some home methods use solid fats and similar ingredients instead. Besides versions made only with rice flour, some also use wheat flour. A survey of traditional Iranian pastries published in 2020 lists both rice flour and wheat flour among the ingredients of nan-e berenji from Yazd and Kermanshah.<\/p>\n

\n\"Nan-e\n
Nan-e berenji dough being prepared in Kermanshah (July 14, 2010). A large mass of dough sits on the counter, and small divided portions are lined up on a tray nearby. Photo: mehdi hosseini \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a> \/ CC BY 3.0<\/a>. A reduced-size version was obtained from Commons. No changes to the content and no cropping were made on our side.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

From Thimbles to Wooden Stamps<\/h2>\n

The small patterns on the surface are not carved after baking. They are pressed in when the dough is shaped. In one traditional method, small portions of dough were flattened in the palm and marked with a thimble. Methods using dedicated wooden tools, and methods in which the dough is rolled out and cut with a cutter, are also recorded. Cookies sold in shops are sometimes larger than the small ones made at home.<\/p>\n

As a finishing touch, ground pistachios or black seeds are scattered on top. Some sources describe the black seeds as poppy seeds, while others say siyahdaneh, that is, nigella, is used, so the two cannot be treated as the same ingredient. The pattern and the way the seeds are scattered are small clues for telling apart surfaces that all have a pale baked color.<\/p>\n

Because the baked dough is fragile, packing it as a souvenir also takes care. One recorded method places paper between the layers and packs the cookies in wooden boxes. Keeping well as a souvenir is different from withstanding impact. Separating the layers with thin paper is a way of dealing with the delicate nature of the dough.<\/p>\n

\"Schematic<\/p>\n

Left: the stage of pressing a pattern into the surface of the disc. Right: a simplified cross-section showing how easily the baked dough breaks. The diagram does not show tool dimensions or the proportions of rice flour and wheat flour. This is a schematic diagram and not to scale. Diagram: original illustration by Sweetlore.<\/p>\n

Glossary<\/h2>\n

Nowruz<\/strong>: The New Year in Iran and other regions, celebrated at the spring equinox. Sweets such as nan-e berenji are prepared for it.<\/p>

Ghee<\/strong>: A fat made by removing the water and milk solids from butter.<\/p>

Siyahdaneh<\/strong>: The Persian name for nigella seeds. They are not the same as poppy seeds.<\/p>

Nigella<\/strong>: A plant of the buttercup family. Its black seeds are used to flavor food.<\/p>

Qors-e khorshid<\/strong>: A variant of the rice flour sweet whose name means \u201csun cookie.\u201d A version in which almonds and sugar are wrapped in saffron dough is recorded.<\/p>

References<\/h2>\n
  1. Encyclopaedia Iranica, \u201cCookies\u201d<\/a> \u2014 Rice flour sweets, fine flour, shaping, packaging and regions.<\/li>
  2. Encyclopaedia Iranica, \u201cBerenj iii. In Cooking\u201d<\/a> \u2014 The New Year, rice flour, stamped patterns and regions.<\/li>
  3. Ghazavi et al., \u201cTraditional Iranian pastries,\u201d 2020, Table 1<\/a> \u2014 Ingredient table showing rice flour and wheat flour used together in Yazd and Kermanshah.<\/li>
  4. Food Network, \u201cNan-e Berenji\u201d<\/a> \u2014 An example of resting the dough so that moisture spreads through the rice flour.<\/li><\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Nan-e Berenji (\u0646\u0627\u0646 \u0628\u0631\u0646\u062c\u06cc) is an Iranian cookie made with rice flour. A pattern is pressed into the surface of each small disc, which is topped with black seeds or finely ground pistachios. The cookie breaks easily when held and crumbles when bitten, and the aromas of rose water and cardamom come through in the dough. It is known as a representative souvenir of Kermanshah in western Iran and is also counted among the sweets of Nowruz.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":7608,"menu_order":284,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_parade_sweetlore_meta":{"en":"Nan-e Berenji","subtitle":"From Kermanshah to the New Year in Other Cities","topics":"Fine rice flour and a crumbly dough\uff0fPressing patterns into the surface with thimbles and wooden molds\uff0fA New Year sweet of Kermanshah","country":"Kermanshah, Iran","show_toc":true,"ingredients":["grain"],"texture":[],"occasion":[],"method":["baked"],"season":[]},"footnotes":""},"sweetlore_category":[151],"class_list":["post-8513","sweetlore","type-sweetlore","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":{"sweetlore_related_products":null,"sweetlore_related_faqs":null,"sweetlore_related_voices":null,"sweetlore_related_mode":"auto","sweetlore_related_articles":null},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t