Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe

Goosh-e-fil, is an Iranian sweet treat, that literally translates to “elephant’s ear” due to their shape! This pastry is made by a simple dough shaped into rectangles, deep fried and then drenched in a delicious saffron and rose water syrup. They are a bit crisp on the outside, syrupy and hollow on the inside and pair very well with a cup of black tea.

This post contains affiliate links. It means when you purchase something using these links, I may earn a small commission. Thank you for supporting my blog!

Persian Goosh-e-Fil Recipe

Goosh-e-fil, is an Iranian sweet treat, that literally translates to "elephant's ear" due to their shape! This pastry is made by a simple dough shaped into rectangles, deep fried and then drenched in a delicious saffron and rose water syrup.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Persian

Servings pastries

Ingredients

Saffron Syrup:

2 cups granulated sugar - 400 grams
1 cup water
¼ cup rose water
⅛ tsp ground saffron
½ tbsp lemon juice

Pastry:

2 egg yolks - at room temperature
½ cup milk and yogurt mixture (2tbsp yogurt + enough milk to get to ½ cup mark) - at room temperature
1 tbsp saffron syrup - which we make ourselves
1 tbsp vegetable oil
½ tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp ground cardamom - optional
1 tsp baking powder
1½ - 2 cups all purpose flour - 180-240 grams
vegetable oil - for frying

Instructions

Prepare the Syrup:

Ground the saffron and transfer it to a small bowl. Add 1 tablespoon boiling water to the saffron and let it sit until it develops color and brews.
In an stainless steel pan, pour the sugar slowly in the center.
Then slowly pour in the water, starting from the outside of the pan and going into the center so it covers the sugar. Use a wooden spoon to gently stir it just a bit.
Let it slowly heat on medium until sugar is dissolved and the mixture is bubbling.
Add in lemon juice, rose water and brewed saffron.
Lower the heat and let it slowly simmer. Do not stir.
Now you can see that there are some sugar pieces sticking to the side of your pan. If they fall into the syrup, they'll cause crystals. So we dip a pastry brush in water and clean the sides of our pan. This way you dissolve the sugar granules into the mixture. Keep doing this every other minute.
After 10-15 minutes, the syrup should be ready, we're looking for a consistency like warm honey. To test, pour some on a plate (use a clean wooden spoon to take some out), refrigerate it for 2 minutes. Then rotate plate around, the syrup shouldn't move around easily.
Slowly take the pan off the heat, be careful not to move it around too much. Set aside. Take out 1 tablespoon of this syrup for the pastry dough.

Make the Pastry Dough:

In a medium bowl, add in the yolks, yogurt and milk mixture, saffron syrup, vanilla, oil and ground cardamom if using. Whisk until combined.
Add in the baking powder and whisk.
Immediately after baking powder, add 1½ cup flour into the egg yolk mixture and use a wooden spoon to combine. Then start gently kneading the dough, adding 1 tablespoon of flour at a time until the dough is soft and not sticky. I added 2 more tablespoons but sometimes you don't need any. Be careful not to add too much flour or the pastry will not puff up as much while frying. The final dough should be very soft.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for 2 hours.

Fry the Pastry:

In a saucepan pour vegetable oil until it's about 3 inches deep. Place on medium heat until it's hot and when you place a dough piece in, it will start sizzling immediately.
Very lightly dust the work surface with flour. Roll out the dough to about 3 mm (0.11 inch) thick. Use a pizza or pastry cutter and cut the dough into squares, rectangles or diamonds. They can be roughly around 2 inches long.
Add in the dough pieces into the oil about 4-5 pieces at a time. They will come up in the oil and start puffing up. Once one side is golden, rotate so that the other side is fried too. This will take around 1-2 minutes. Keep in mind not all of the pastries will puff up and that's ok, they will still taste as good.
Once the pastries are golden, take them out of the oil with a slotted spoon and place into the syrup we made earlier. Use a spoon to cover them in syrup completely. Let them soak for 2-5 minutes depending on how sweet you'd like them to be. Place a strainer on top of a bowl. Then transfer the pastries from the syrup to the strainer to get the extra syrup out.
Decorate with ground pistachios and dried rose petals. Enjoy warm or cold. They are the perfect pair to a warm cup of tea!
To store, keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days.