Recipe
🍰 DESSERT
Nishallo (Whipped Ramadan Sweet)
A glossy white Tajik whip of egg whites beaten into a hot sugar syrup and scented with vanilla, made for iftar in Ramadan and scooped up with warm bread.
Tajik · medium · serves 8
prep 10 min · cook 15 min
~233 cal · 3g protein · 51g carbs · 3g fat · 0g fiber · 51g sugars · 1g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Nishallo, also called nishalda, is a Tajik Ramadan sweet, a brilliant white, airy whip somewhere between meringue and marshmallow cream.
Egg whites are beaten with a boiling sugar syrup until the mass turns thick, glossy and stiff, traditionally raised with a decoction of soap or licorice root and perfumed with vanilla and a little anise.
Almost every Tajik family sets out nishallo during Ramadan, eaten at iftar with flatbread and washed down with green tea, a sweet that marks the breaking of the fast.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and gluten-, dairy-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 8
4 egg whites
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup water
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla
a pinch (optional) ground anise
Instructions
1
Boil the sugar and water in a saucepan to a thick syrup that reaches the soft-ball stage, about 240F.
2
While it heats, whip the egg whites with the lemon juice to stiff, glossy peaks.
3
Pour the hot syrup into the whites in a slow, thin stream, whipping constantly, until the mass turns bright white, thick and glossy.
✎ Chef’s note
Pour the syrup down the side of the bowl in a thin thread so it does not cook the whites into hard threads.
4
Beat in the vanilla and anise and keep whipping until the mixture holds firm peaks.
5
Spoon into a bowl and serve cool, scooped up with warm flatbread.
Tajik Ramadan iftar sweet.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Dushanbe. Dushanbe sits in the Pamir foothills, tearing bread into qurutob and dousing it with tangy dried-yogurt sauce, onions, and herbs. Tajik cooking centres on osh plov rice, mutton, and the round tandoor-baked non that starts every meal.
🗺️
Tajikistan. Tajik cuisine is Persian-influenced and Silk Road-shaped, qurutob (bread soaked in yogurt sauce), plov, and grilled meats. Green tea, flatbread, and mountain hospitality anchor the table.
🌍
Asia. Fermentation is the thread that runs the whole way across: soy sauce and miso, Korean doenjang and kimchi, Southeast Asian fish sauces, the soured batter behind an idli. Chilli is the newcomer among them, arriving only after 1500 with Portuguese and Spanish traders, which makes the heat in Sichuan, Thai and Korean cooking far younger than the fermenting underneath it.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Tajikistan
QurutobTajikistan's national dish: flaky fatir bread torn into a tangy qurut yogurt sauce, topped with onions and herbs.
ShirchoyWarm milk tea poured over torn bread with a knob of butter, a simple Tajik mountain breakfast.
MastavaA hearty rice soup with meat, chickpeas, and vegetables, brightened with herbs and a spoon of yogurt, a Tajik staple.
Browse all Tajikistan recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan.
Storing it: Best the day it is made. Wrap well and refresh in a warm oven, or freeze and reheat straight from frozen.
Make it a Tajikistan meal
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Choi KabudDrink
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Frequently asked questions
What is Nishallo (Whipped Ramadan Sweet)?
A glossy white Tajik whip of egg whites beaten into a hot sugar syrup and scented with vanilla, made for iftar in Ramadan and scooped up with warm bread.
Where does Nishallo (Whipped Ramadan Sweet) come from?
Nishallo (Whipped Ramadan Sweet) is a Tajik dish from Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
Can Nishallo (Whipped Ramadan Sweet) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Nishallo (Whipped Ramadan Sweet) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Nishallo (Whipped Ramadan Sweet) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Nishallo (Whipped Ramadan Sweet) take to make?
About 25 minutes total (10 minutes prep, 15 minutes cooking), serving 8.
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