Happy Nowruz 2020!

After a long blogging hiatus, I am back with a new post about Nowruz, my favorite holiday. This Nowruz is undoubtedly unlike any other in the past. As you all know, these are very difficult times for so many of us as we try our best to stay positive and get through this pandemic day by day. We are all coping with feelings of fear, anxiety, isolation and economic hardship. However, life continues to go on and seasons change and with the spring equinox comes a new sense of hope, growth, rebirth and rejuvenation. I wish you all a very healthy, happy and prosperous Nowruz. I hope you all stay safe and strong. Please make sure you take the necessary measures to protect yourself and your loved ones.

The traditional Haft Seen table includes Sabzeh (wheat sprouts), Seer (garlic), Seeb (apple), Senjed (fruits of oleaster tree), Somagh (sumac), Serkeh (vinegar), Tokhme Morgh Rangi (colored eggs), Sekeh (coins), Sonbol (hyacinth), as well as a mirror, candles and a Hafez poetry book or holy book.

Below is a recipe for Sekanjabin, an ancient Persian syrup and drink that is both healthy and refreshing.

Sekanjabin Syrup

Ingredients:

1 cup honey (clover or orange blossom)

3-4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

A small bunch of fresh mint

Rosewater

Method:

In a small saucepan, combine honey and 1/2 cup of water. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat. Add the mint, boil for 10-15 minutes. Add vinegar, simmer for additional 5-7 minutes. Add a few drops of rosewater, remove from heat. Cool and serve with lettuce.  

Sharbat-e Sekanjabin 

Mix 2 tablespoons of sekanjabin syrup with grated small cucumber, a few drops of rosewater, and water. Add a few ice cubes and serve cold.

Enjoy!
!نوروزتان پیروز 
Nowruzetan Pirooz!

Mint Cucumber Sekanjabin Ice Pops - Ancient Persian Drink Meets the New World

Summer is almost here, with its typical hot and humid weather and the all too familiar music of the ice cream truck driving through the neighborhood, followed by the excited screams of the neighbor's kids. So, I thought what better way to welcome the summer than with a mint and cucumber سکنجبین sekanjabin - but not the usual ancient cool beverage or the syrup dip served with fresh lettuce, but as ice pops! These are not your average frozen pops. They have the sweet and sour combination flavor that is typical of Iranian cuisine, with vinegar and honey/sugar. Ice pops are a wonderful treat any time of the year but having a tasty ice pop on a hot summer day is just a delightful experience. I still remember the taste of the orange popsicles that I used to buy from the corner grocery store of my grandmother's house in Tehran. When my children were little, they enjoyed their ice pops from the ice cream truck after swimming in the pool in the summer. Now, I usually get a box or two of multi-colored ice pops and that lasts us the entire summer.

سکنجبین - Sekanjabin syrup is usually served in a small bowl and eaten with fresh lettuce leaves. Sekanjabin drink is made with 2-3 tablespoons of sekanjabin, ice, water and grated cucumbers. Even though I absolutely love the taste of sekanjabin now, I didn't appreciate its strong flavor and aroma as a kid. Now, by trying to turn this delicious drink into a بستنی یخی bastani yakhi popsicle, I'm hoping it will appeal to the younger generation and those of us kids at heart. This is a simple recipe and a fun one to do with the kids over the summer. I have made few changes in my sekanjabin recipe to make these pops more palatable.

Long before the discovery of electricity and the invention of the refrigerator, having an ice-cold drink on hot summer days required some planning, hard work and patience. Yakhchal (ice pits) were built in hot and dry areas to make ice during the winter and to preserve it for use in the summer. As a child, I visited one of these yakhchals in the south of Tehran with my mother. The image of that man-made ancient refrigerator, which was made out of mud and clay, is still etched in my mind and makes me appreciate making ice-pops in a much more convenient freezer.

Mint Cucumber Sekanjabin Ice Pops - Ancient Persian Drink Meets the New World

Ingredients:
Makes 8 pops

1/2 cup honey *(I used orange blossom honey for its delicate scent and mild flavor but any other fruit flavored honey will do)
2 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar *(I chose apple cider vinegar over white vinegar for its milder taste and for a bit of a fruity flavor)
2 1/2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest *(to add a hint of citrus taste)
1 small bunch of fresh mint, washed
3 Persian cucumbers, shredded or thinly sliced
1 teaspoon rosewater

Method:

1. In a heavy-bottom pot, combine honey, sugar and water, place on medium heat, bring the water to a boil, stir until honey and sugar are dissolved, lower the heat, and simmer for about 10-12 minutes or until it thickens a little bit. 
2. Add vinegar, lemon zest and mint leaves, stir and simmer for another 7-8 minutes.
3.  Remove foams with a wooden spoon. Taste and adjust the flavors.
4. Add a teaspoon of rosewater, remove from heat and let cool completely and then strain it through a fine-mesh sieve. 
5. Place a teaspoon of shredded cucumber and a couple of mint leaves in each mold. Pour the mixture into Popsicle molds. I used this ice pop mold. Insert the ice pop sticks and place in the freezer until firm, about 3-4 hours.

Enjoy!