Favorite and traditional rice flour-based puddings, breads, and pastries in the north of Iran: A review

Iran is an ancient country with its cuisine consisting of diverse and easy recipes for many distinct foods. Because rice (Oryza sativa L.) is the most important agricultural crop in the northern provinces of Iran (Guilan, Mazandaran, and Golestan), it has been used as the main food source to prepare traditional puddings, breads, and pastries which have long historical backgrounds. Although most of these indigenous edible souvenirs are served on the special occasions during the year, a serious attention on revival of their preparation methods, nutritional properties, and components functionality is necessary to understand the belief of local people that many diseases can be cured with their consumption. Therefore, this review article summarizes a description of a variety of ethnic rice flour-based foods including sweets (e.g., halva and baklava), desserts (e.g., sholeh zard, shir-berenj, and fereni), and flat and semivolume breads (e.g., naan) of the north of Iran, with a special emphasis on the preparation methods and beneficial health effects of their key ingredients.