Did you know that the word Zarda comes from the Persian word zard meaning yellow colour? The yellow hue of the dish is what gave it its name. Zarda is a dessert which is popular across North India as meethe chawal. In parts of Punjab, the tradition of cooking rice along with jaggery called gur ke chawal is also pretty old. It is believed that this dish comprising of sweet rice was quite prevalent at the time Mughals too. Abu Fazl's writings mention zard biranj which is described as a combination of rice, sugar, ginger, saffron and cinnamon. In today's time, Muslims living in India often gorge on Zarda as a dessert for festive ocassions like Eid. A super delicious and traditional sweet Indian rice, Zarda is another name for meethe chawal. Made with rice, sugar, clarrified butter and flavourful spices such as cinnamon and bay leaf this dessert recipe is a must try.