By
Heidi Noroozy
“Once in a time and a
place little known lived an old farmer named Mashti Malone. And though he
worked his poor hands to the bone, nothing would grow in his land except stone…”
Every
time I hear this little ditty, I get a craving for ice cream. Not just any ice
cream but Persian bastani. And not
just bastani but makhloot, the reigning
queen of Iranian street food.
Makhloot
pairs two refreshing frozen desserts in a single bowl. Bastani is
saffron-flavored ice cream, scented with rosewater and studded with pistachios.
Sometimes it also contains little squares of frozen cream, creating a colorful (and
fragrant) concoction of yellow, green, and white.
The
other half of makhloot is faloodeh, a
rose-water sherbet made with delicate vermicelli noodles. Faloodeh is served in
one of two ways: ba limoo (with a
splash of lemon or lime juice), or ba
albaloo (with a drop or two of sour cherry syrup). Either way, the dessert
has an amazing mouth feel. The sherbet part melts instantly on your tongue,
leaving al dente noodles behind.
In
Iran, you buy makhloot from tiny sidewalk shops. Often the only choices are
saffron bastani and faloodeh (which you can also buy separately). Other shops
serve a variety of ice cream flavors as well. The dessert is scooped into small,
plastic dishes and passed through the window. You then go on your merry way
slurping bastani and faloodeh as you go. Or you find a sidewalk bench for the
fascinating entertainment of people watching (one of my favorite pastimes anywhere
in the world).
Sometimes,
the bastani/faloodeh combination is punched up with additional ingredients:
bits of fruit jello, banana slices, chocolate chunks, chopped nuts, and whipped
cream. The result is a kind of Persian sundae.
If
you happen to visit Shiraz, here’s a tip: go to the Aramgah-e Sa’adi (tomb of
the famous poet, Sa’adi) and ask someone to direct you to the nearby faloodeh
shop. I don’t remember the street or the name of the shop, and it is the kind
of place you’d easily miss if you blinked while passing it on the street. It
occupies a tiny space in a gray building behind the walled garden that
surrounds Sa’adi’s tomb. But the faloodeh is the best this side of paradise.
You
don’t have to go to Iran to enjoy a dish of excellent makhloot. Just head for Los
Angeles, home to a wonderful little ice cream shop called Mashti Malone. Remember
that snippet of bad poetry I quoted above? Yes, that Mashti Malone.
But
first a bit of history: The Mashti Malone ice cream shop is owned by Mashti and
Mehdi Shirvani, two brothers from the northeastern Iranian city of Mashhad. In
1980, Mashti bought an ice cream shop called Mugsy Malone on the corner of La
Brea and Sunset in Hollywood. Because he had little money left over for a brand
new sign, he simply replaced “Mugsy” with “Mashti,” and a legend was born.
 |
| Photo by Steve Lambert |
A
few years later, a group of filmmakers were shooting nearby and, inspired by
the ice cream shop’s unusual name, penned a tongue-in-cheek poem titled “The
Legend of Mashti Malone.” The first two lines are above, and you can read the
full poem here.
The
Shirvani brothers make delicious faloodeh, but their real talent lies in the
bastani. In addition to the traditional saffron and rosewater flavor, they also
sell more exotic varieties such as Ginger Rosewater, Orange Blossom, and
Lavender.
My
favorite combo is traditional saffron bastani and faloodeh with a splash of
sour cherry syrup. The bastani’s creamy texture is the perfect foil for the
faloodeh’s aching sweetness, creating an unforgettable blend.
What
is your favorite street food? What local specialties have you encountered in
your travels?
