Sutarfeni is a Gujarati sweet, made with shredded, all-purpose flour roasted in ghee (clarified butter), blended with melted sugar, and topped with finely chopped pistachios and almonds. The product is typically flavored with powdered cardamom and/or rose petals. It may be white in color, scented with floral essences such as rose water or screwpine, or it may be colored and flavored with saffron.
Strand-like pheni were Phenakas mentioned in various Indian texts. Phenakas is a broad term which includes various dishes prepared by using layered fried dough.
Vijayanagar records indicate that Pheni was another much relished sweet dish prepared from wheat flour and sugar, similar to phenaka of North India and had varieties like sugar pheni, milk pheni and vermicelli pheni.
The original recipe may have been brought to India following the numerous waves of invasions of Northern India by the Islamic rulers of Central Asia and Persia from the 9th through the 18th centuries CE. The threads of pismaniye, however, are considerably finer than those of sutarfeni, because the gluten in wheat flour allows the pastry strands to be thinner without falling apart.
Legend has it that Sutarfeni was first created in the royal kitchens of the Rajput kingdom, where skilled chefs experimented with various ingredients to create a unique and indulgent dessert fit for royalty.
The recipe was initially developed as a special treat for the royal family during festive occasions and celebrations. The skilled chefs combined vermicelli noodles with ghee, sugar, and aromatic spices to create a decadent dish that delighted the taste buds of the kings and queens.
It is said that sutarfeni was invented in the deserts of Rajasthan and Gujarat, from where it spread to Mumbai via travelling merchants.