Shab-e Yalda (Winter Solstice) 2016 and a Recipe for Apple and Pear Faloodeh

Yalda, the ancient Persian festival of the winter solstice, is celebrated on the eve of the longest night of the year, which also marks the beginning of the winter season in the northern hemisphere. شب یلدا Shab-e Yalda (Yalda night) festival dates back several thousand years to the birth of Mithra, the light of the world and the god of justice and victory. It's a wonderful night when family and friends gather together to celebrate, laugh, eat, drink, and read the poetry of Hafez and tell stories late into the night. For me, besides the memorable Yalda nights of my childhood, which involved delicious food, ruby red seeded pomegranates, small round watermelons, ajil, sweets, and tea, it's remembering how adamant my mother was to instill the appreciation for Shab-e Yalda and all other Iranian celebrations in me.

I came across this faloodeh recipe a few years ago. I was so intrigued by its simplicity and the availability of the ingredients that I made it right away, took a photo, and posted it on my Facebook page. Ever since then, I have had this recipe on my mind, and I wanted to post this fresh fruit-based faloodeh/paloodeh on my blog. I like the combination of fresh apple and pear flavors in this Iranian-style faloodeh/paloodeh. The term faloodeh also refers to the Iranian frozen rice noodle dessert that is served with sour cherry syrup.

There are many different types of apples and pears. They vary in color, texture, and taste, and since everyone has their own favorites, you may choose whichever type of apple or pear you prefer for this recipe. This recipe was adapted from the British Museum website a long time ago, and the direct link seems to be broken. Here's the link to the Apple and Pear Sherbet post on my Facebook page, 5 years ago.

Ingredients

Serves 4

-2 large apples
-2 large pears
-1-2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
-1 tablespoon superfine sugar (add more sugar if you prefer it sweeter)
-1/2 teaspoon rosewater

Method:

1. Thoroughly rinse the fruits in cold water, pat dry with a paper towel or cloth, and grate them using a handheld grater. If you prefer, you may remove the skin, but it's not necessary.
2. Place the grated apples, pears, lime juice, rosewater, and sugar into a bowl. Stir and mix it well.

Scoop the faloodeh into serving bowls/glasses and make sure you serve it right away since apples and pears turn brown quickly. You can spoon it over ice cream, yogurt, or simple cakes, or just eat it plain.

*You can turn the apple and pear faloodeh into a drink by simply adding a cup of cold water and 1-2 cups of ice.

Maman and Baba sitting around a korsi on shab-e yalda, circa 1970

Happy Shab-e Yalda!

Shab-e Yalda 2014: Baslogh Recipe to Celebrate the Persian Yalda Night

The early sunsets, short days, and long nights of autumn will come to an end this upcoming Sunday, December 21st. The earliest sunsets of the year occur during the week leading up to the winter solstice, and on the shortest day of the year, the sun sets at 4:32 PM and rises again at 7:17 AM the next day here in New York. Beginning on the 1st day of winter, the days start to grow longer, though the change is so gradual that it won't feel noticeable for several days. 

The longest night of the year is known as  Shab-e Yalda in Persian. The word Yalda means birth, and it refers to the birth of Mithra, the god of light and justice. Traditionally, the night of Yalda is celebrated with friends and family gathering around a کرسی - korsi or سفره  - sofreh (festive spread) or a table with seasonal fruits: bowls of ruby-red pomegranates, platters of sweet sliced watermelons, and ripe persimmons.  A bowl of ajil (nuts, seeds, and dried fruits), sweets, and a book of Hafez's poetry. 

This celebration usually begins after dinner and continues late into the night with poetry reading, storytelling, and music to celebrate the victory of light over darkness, the start of a new season, and to make the long hours of the night go by faster. For me, it is also a way of remembering those who kept this tradition alive through the centuries: people gathered on cold winter nights around a small oil lamp or a simple wood-burning fire, with limited food yet an abundant spirit. And still, they passed down the magic of Shab-e Yalda from generation to generation.

Among the sweets commonly served, baslogh is widely recognized as a classic yalda shirini (Yalda sweet). باسلوق  - Baslogh is a soft starch-based confection infused with rosewater, and each individual piece is completely coated with shredded coconuts and topped with walnuts. In addition to rosewater, saffron and ground cardamom may be used as well. For this recipe, you will need a little patience as it does require constant stirring.

Baslogh (Persian Rosewater Coconut Confection)

Ingredients

Makes about 14 pieces

-1/2 cup cornstarch
-1 cup (8-ounces) granulated sugar
-1 1/2 cups water
-1/2 cup rosewater
-1 teaspoon lemon juice
-1/4 cup walnut halves
-1 tablespoon unsalted butter
-1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Method:

1. Pour the shredded coconut into a large bowl. Set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan, combine sugar and 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat until the sugar is completely dissolved. Reduce the heat and let it simmer.
3. In a small saucepan, mix the cornstarch and 1/2 cup of cool water together in a small saucepan. Stir until the mixture is completely smooth. 
4. Add the dissolved cornstarch to the simmering sugar syrup. Bring to a gentle boil and stir constantly until the mixture is smooth and no longer lumpy. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring frequently until thickened for about 15-20 minutes. Add the rosewater, butter, and lemon juice, and cook for another 5-7 minutes. Stirring constantly.
5. Working quickly, drop spoonfuls of the hot mixture into the bowl of shredded coconut. Roll and shape each spoonful into a ball, coating all sides evenly in the coconut. Press a walnut half into the center of each baslogh. Arrange the pieces on a serving platter and serve with tea.

Happy Shab-e Yalda!

Moraba-ye Zoghal Akhteh - Persian Cornelian Cherry Jam

Moraba-ye Zoghal Akhteh (cornelian cherry jam) recipe was a last-minute decision, as I was through simply eating a handful of these different shades of red, tangy, oval-shaped fresh summer fruits. Cornelian cherries offer numerous health benefits, and their flavor ranges from slightly bitter to tart or pleasantly tart-sweet, depending on their ripeness. With only one bowl of zoghal akhteh left on the kitchen table, I decided to make jam, and I'm happy to say that the jam turned out great. Still, lavashak-e zoghal akhteh (cornelean cherry fruit roll-up) remains my favorite way of eating this amazing fruit.

If I had a zoghal akhteh tree in my backyard, I would spread a malafeh (bedsheet) or a sofreh (tablecloth) beneath it, shake the branches vigorously, and gather the fallen fruit. This small batch, however, was picked from a Cornelian cherry tree on public property in the New York area. I only learned its English name after posting a photo of Zoghal Akhteh on my Facebook page, and thanks to my lovely followers, I finally discovered the correct name. 

Let's hope that in the future, fruit growers and producers make this delicious fruit readily available at farmers' markets here, so we won't have to hang from tree branches in parks and along busy streets. In the meantime, I enjoyed this rare find, and although cornelian cherries are hard to come by and not widely available, I'm happy to share this jam recipe with you. 

For me, zoghal akhteh is deeply reminiscent of hot Tehran summers and the best seasonal snacks and sour treats, walnuts in brine, faloodeh, goojeh sabz (green sour plums), shahtoot (mulberries), and plump dried zoghal akhteh, to name just a few.

I initially tried to remove the pits before cooking, but the Cornelian cherry pits are difficult to dislodge. As I worked, I found myself thinking of all the women that I had watched growing up in Iran, patiently seated around a sofreh, meticulously preparing fruits and vegetables for jams and pickles. Back then, it seemed like a pointless waste of time. 

In recent years, I've become much more attentive to how I cook, and especially over the past three and a half years of blogging, preserving the authenticity of recipes has become increasingly important to me. Long ingredient lists and extended cooking times are no longer overwhelming. Still, after removing a few pits with a small, sharp knife, I opted for a quicker, less tedious method: partially cooking the cherries first and removing the pits afterward. 

My mother always prepared the sugar syrup separately and added it during the cooking process. Since I had already pre-cooked the cherries, however,  I chose to add the sugar directly to the pot to avoid ending up with a runny jam. If you prefer the traditional syrup method, simply combine 2 cups of sugar with 1 cup of water in a small pot, bring to a boil over medium heat, stir until the sugar dissolves completely, and simmer until slightly thickened.

Moraba-ye Zoghal Akhteh - Cornelian Cherry Jam

Ingredients

-4 cups Cornelian cherries, picked over and washed
-2 cups sugar (adjust to taste) 
-Juice of 1 lime
-2 tablespoons rose water
-1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder

Method:

1. Place the cherries in a non-reactive, heavy-bottomed pot. Add 4 cups of water, bring to a rapid boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer on medium-low heat for 15 minutes. Do not leave the pot unattended. Stir frequently and skim off any foam if needed.
2. Set a mesh colander over a large glass bowl. Remove the pot from the heat and pour the contents into the colander.
3. Mash the cornelian cherries with a potato masher or pass them through a food mill to separate and remove the pits.
4. Return the strained liquid to the pot, including any pitted flesh that remains. Add lime juice, sugar, and cardamom powder, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Reduce the heat, add rose water, and simmer on medium-low heat for 20-30 minutes or until the jam thickens.
5. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
6. Pour the jam into a clean glass jar and refrigerate.
7. Serve moraba-ye zoghal akhteh with butter or feta cheese and warm noon barbari or sangak.

Cook's note: You may also use zoghal akhteh whole, without removing the seeds, to preserve their beautiful appearance and make a lovely jam.

Enjoy!

Moraba-ye Beh - Persian Quince Jam with Cardamom and Rose Water

Recently, a reader left a comment on my blog asking for a recipe for quince jam, and that's when I decided to make this gorgeous, colorful, and fragrant preserve while quinces are still in season. مربای به (Persian quince jam) was always part of a typical Persian sobhaneh (breakfast) back home in Iran. breakfast often included freshly baked warm bread, barbari, taftoon, or sangak, straight from the tanoor, a hot cup of freshly brewed chai (tea), sarshir (breakfast cream), panir (my favorite is Lighvan), butter, and honey. 

Among the many jams, quince jam stood out with its beautiful color, aroma. and delicate sweetness. I recommend making a large batch, because this is the kind of jam you'll find yourself eating right out of the jar. I wish I could tell you how long it lasts in the fridge, but after a month, I honestly wouldn't know; it never makes it that long in our house. 

It's truly amazing to watch the transformation of this light yellow, tart, and woody fruit into a sweet fruit jam with a deep, ruby-red color and a texture soft enough to melt in your mouth.

This time of year, when quince is in season, is the perfect time to make the hearty one-pot meal known as tas kabab layered with slices of quince, or the comforting fall favorite khoresh-e beh (quince stew).  Quince has a thin, delicate skin that usually doesn't need to be peeled; just rinse it well, and with a sharp knife, gently remove the core. Don't throw away the seeds! They have long been used in Iranian homes for their medicinal properties. As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, a teaspoon of quince seeds steeped in a cup of hot water can help soothe a minor sore throat and chest discomfort.. Nothing from this beautiful fruit goes to waste!

Moraba-ye Beh - Persian Quince Jam

Ingredients

Makes about 4 pint jars 

-7 medium-sized quinces, rinse well under running water, pat dry, remove any brown spots and core, slice or cut into bite-sized pieces
-2 cups sugar (adjust to taste)
-3-4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice
-1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom or 2-3 whole cardamom pods 
-1 tablespoon rose water (optional)

- 4 cups of water

Method

1.  Sprinkle 1-2 tablespoons of lemon juice over the sliced quince.
2. In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the sugar and 4 cups of water. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat, uncovered. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes or until the syrup thickens slightly. 
3. Stir in the cardamom and add the quince slices to the syrup. Bring it back to a gentle boil over medium heat. Add the remaining lemon juice, and if necessary, add a little more water.
4. Cover and simmer over low heat for about 2 hours. To achieve that deep ruby-red color, try not to remove the lid during cooking to ensure that the quince slices develop the desired rich color. 
5. Add the rose water and simmer for another few minutes.
6. Remove from heat and let the jam cool.
7. Ladle it into sterilized jars, seal tightly, and refrigerate.

Serve for breakfast with butter, cheese, and warm bread, or as a topping with thick yogurt or vanilla ice cream. 

Enjoy!

Spring Cleaning, Fruits and Ta'rof

It's still very cold and windy where I live, grasses are dried and brown, buried underneath patches of ice and snow, trees are bare, and my bird houses are looking very lonely and beaten by the cold. There's no sign of spring in the air, as if it will never arrive. I know this harsh winter and cold weather won't last for long, and spring will be here very soon, but, like other harsh and cruel things in life, it's sometimes difficult to believe that there will be a light at the end of a dark tunnel. However, life proves to be full of surprises and many unimaginable, beautiful outcomes. One of my mother's habits was writing little notes on the corner of blank pages of her favorite books, such as Hafez's poetry book, lines like "in niz bogzarad" (this too shall pass). Seeing my mother's beautiful handwriting and the message while thumbing through the pages reinforces the hope that things will get better! Renewal and change will come soon, and spring will bring many blooms, warm rays of sunshine, and greenery.

To me, spring means hope, brightness, warmth, rejuvenation, colors, birds chirping, flowers, and fruits. At this time of the year, with spring being around the corner, it's time for our traditional, major خانه تکانی - khaneh-tekani (spring cleaning). This is a top-to-bottom, inside-out, every nook and cranny heavy-duty cleaning, getting rid of the old and bringing in the new. Besides the cleaning, I'm thinking of reupholstering my kitchen chairs and painting my stairway, that's why I need at least four weeks to accomplish all of this, and yes, I'll do it all by myself. Changing the seat covers is easy; it's choosing the right fabric that is hard. So far, I've been to my neighborhood fabric store and came back empty-handed. I can't seem to find what I'm looking for. Well, I'm not much of an interior designer, and it takes me a while to figure out what works best. I also wrote about spring cleaning (Iranian style) a year ago at this time.

Assorted fresh seasonal fruit platters are usually the centerpiece of the living room coffee tables in most Iranian homes for Nowruz celebrations and gatherings with friends and family. For us, serving fruits is right up there with serving a fresh-brewed cup of tea with sweets. Even though winter fruits are somewhat limited in varieties compared to the summer bounty, you can offer a fruit platter with what's seasonally available in your area and part of the world.

As a kid, I didn't like the تعارف ta'rof ritual, the persistence of offering you food and drinks by the elders in the family. I'm used to it by now, and it doesn't bother me anymore. It's all done with the best intentions of wanting to serve and please your guests. I find a little ta'rof somewhat charming. I usually offer our guests something to eat 2-3 times before giving up and saying, "Please feel at home and help yourself," but my husband, on the other hand, starts peeling oranges, slicing apples, pears, and Persian cucumbers, and anything else that's on the table and makes a ready-to-eat fruit platter for our guests! It's very cultural!!

Enjoy!

Torshi Anbeh - Pickled Mango

This is a quick, simple and sumptuous torshi (pickle) that is served as a side for any rice and stew dishes. Serving a variety of pickles and relishes with main courses is a major part of the Iranian cuisine. In our home torshi making was an annual summer ritual for my mother and our hayat (yard) would be filled with fresh fruits, vegetables, tomatoes, limes and unripe sour grapes to juice. Years later, when I met my husband, I was happy to find out that in their home his father was in charge of making torshi and that he had designated a special place in the basement of his home to place the large clay jars used to preserve the pickles!  I knew then that I'd met someone who also has the love of torshi in his genes! There's nothing like homemade pickles where you use fresh ingredients and favorite spices and adjust the seasonings to your liking. There are the common and popular pickles such as the eggplant pickle, mixed vegetable pickle and the garlic pickle, not to mention my favorite fruit pickle that I have written about in the past.

Today's recipe is ترشی انبه  torshi anbeh (pickled mango) which I've grown to adore mostly in recent years. Mangoes make great pickles. They are soft, smooth, juicy and quite tasty. I like to maintain the color and the texture of mango while it gently simmers in tamarind infused sauce, spices, dried red pepper and garlic cloves and vinegar, until all the complex and different flavors come together nicely. I didn't chop the garlic and the peppers into pieces and chose to leave them whole. We don't want them to overpower the taste and also this way they would be easier to take out when serving.

Torshi Anbeh - Pickled Mango

Ingredients:

4 firm ripe mangoes, peeled and cubed

4-5 whole garlic cloves, peeled

Juice of a lemon/lime

3 tablespoons tamarind sauce

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon golpar (angelica), crushed

1/2 teaspoon siah daneh (nigella seeds)

1/2 teaspoon crushed coriander seeds

1-2 dried red peppers

2 cups white vinegar

Salt to taste

Method:

1. Place the mangoes in a bowl, sprinkle with fresh lemon juice and set aside.
2. In a medium-sized heavy pot bring vinegar to a gentle boil over medium-low heat. Add the tomato paste and the tamarind sauce. Stir well.
3. Add the garlic, red pepper and the spices, simmer for 5 minutes over low heat for the flavors to come together. 
4. Add the mangoes to the pot, add salt and cook for 5-7 minutes over medium-low heat, taste and adjust the seasoning if needed, turn off the heat.
5. When cool, place the torshi in a washed and clean glass jar. Make sure all ingredients are covered by vinegar. Add more vinegar if needed. Refrigerate or keep in a cool and dry place. This pickle is ready to serve the next day.

 This is a delicious side to serve with your favorite food.

Enjoy!

Ash-e Miveh - Fresh Fruit Soup

The chickpea

A chickpea in a pot leaps from the flame

out of the boiling water,

crying, "Why do you set fire to me? You chose me, bought me, brought me home for this?"

The cook hits it with the spoon into the pot.

No! Boil nicely, don't jump away from the one who makes fire. 

I don't boil you out of hatred.

Through boiling, you may grow flavorful and nourishing, and be united with the vital human spirit.

I don't inflict suffering out of spite.

Once green and fresh, you drank rain in the garden;

You drank rain for the sake of this fire.

~ Poem by Mowlana Jalaluddin Rumi

~ Translation by Colman Barks

 آش میوه Ash-e miveh is a hearty Iranian soup made with fresh, juicy summer fruits, tasty pinto beans, buttery chickpeas, and a little bit of spices. You will be pleasantly surprised by the textures and the delicate flavors of this flavorful soup. According to my sister-in-law, my mother used to make this soup frequently, and I've made this soup several times in the past few months. This is the version of fresh fruit soup that I like the best, and I'm pleased with the results. There's a second variation of this soup at the bottom of the page that you might also like.*

Fresh Fruit Soup (Ash Miveh)

Ingredients

Serves 4-6

-1 cup chickpeas, soaked overnight or for at least 6-8 hours, drained
-1 cup pinto beans, soaked overnight
-2 peaches, peeled, cut into chunks
-2 plums, peeled, cut into chunks
-2 nectarines, cut into chunks
-3 apricots, cut into chunks
-1 bunch of parsley, chopped (1 cup packed)
-1 bunch of scallions, chopped (1 cup packed)
-1 medium onion, thinly sliced
-2 garlic cloves, minced
 -A pinch of red pepper flakes
-A dash of crushed cardamom
-1/3 teaspoon turmeric
-1 cup of thin soup noodles
-1-2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon/lime juice

-Salt and pepper

-Olive oil

Method:

1. Place the soaked chickpeas and pintobeans into a large pot with 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium, cover, and cook for 50 minutes.
2. Add the chopped parsley and scallions to the pot and stir.
3. In a small skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Sauté the sliced onions until golden. Add turmeric, stir, then mix in the minced garlic, cardamom, and red pepper flakes. Sauté for 3-5 minutes.
4. Add the skillet mixture (onion, garlic, spices) to the pot and continue cooking for another 10-15 minutes. Add noodles and more water if needed.
5. Add the fruits to the soup and simmer on the lowest heat setting for another 20-30 minutes, allowing the fruits to soften without losing their shape. 
6. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Add lemon juice to brighten the flavor.

Serve warm with bread.

*Variation: This is a wonderful and rather sweet version of the above recipe. This is more or less the same recipe as above, but the following changes were made.

1. In addition to the fruits and vegetables, I've also added a medium-sized beet (peeled and cut into small pieces) and a small sliced carrot. 
2. Instead of a cup of chickpeas, I used 1/2 a cup of chickpeas and 1/2 a cup of yellow split peas.
3. I didn't use any spices other than salt and pepper. 
4. No sauteed onion and garlic either.
5. For a sweeter taste, I added a tablespoon of honey. You may add a tablespoon of sugar.
6. This soup has a beautiful color as well as an interesting and delicious taste.

Enjoy!

Torshi-e Miveh & Sabzi - Maman's Pickled Fruit and Vegetables

I am a mother of two amazing daughters, which I am so grateful for, but I am also a daughter and on this mother's day, like many others, I'll be thinking about my own Maman, our strong bond and my many sweet memories of her. In my heart of hearts I remain that little girl whose mom would ever so patiently comb her curly knotted hair in elementary school (dabestan) before going to school each morning, no matter how old I'd get! She gave it all so selflessly without ever asking for anything in return and that's how she lived her life to the end. This was her motto, "Do your best. Give it all and do good at all times, unconditionally and with no expectations." I'm yet to master that...

This fruit and vegetable pickle is one of her many recipes. A hand-written copy of it was recently found among her papers, books and photos, which is quite unusual for she had never wrote any recipes down due to her extraordinary memory. I like to think that she wrote it down for me perhaps, with the intention to pass it down and share it with others someday. Now, for this Mother's Day, I would like to write about one of her favorite recipes that she had titled as: "It's food as well as medicine," (ham ghazast va ham davast).

There are many fruits and vegetables that are great for making pickles. I've written about Vegetable Pickle before, however this is basically a fruit pickle with the addition of a few veggies. I tried to be true to the recipe and to not change anything. Maman's recipe, however, called for some fruits that are not in season right now such as, quince and persimmon, which I skipped and used kiwi and green bell pepper instead. You can pick and choose among the abundance of  delicious, gorgeous and nutritious fruits and vegetables.
These days, discovering a good vegetable market is as exciting and as fun as going to a jewelery store or being on a treasure hunt!

        

Torshi-e Miveh & Sabzi - Maman's Pickled Fruit and Vegetables

Ingredients:

Wash, clean and dry all fruit and vegetables in advance and then cut them into tiny pieces. I reduced the amount to make it simpler, so if you like you can easily double the amount.

1 large orange
1 large apple
1 large pear
1 large tangerine
1 mango (wasn't in the recipe but I had to add one)
1 large quince (not in season, didn't use)
2 persimmons (not in season, didn't use)
2 bananas
2-3 kiwis (wasn't mentioned in the recipe but I happened to have a few)
2-3 nectarines
2-3 plums
2-3 apricots (not in season yet, did not use)

10 dates, seeded and chopped
5 walnuts, chopped

1 medium eggplant
1 medium green bell pepper
1 small turnip (shalgham), grated
1-2 large carrots, shredded
1-2 celery ribs
1 cup of cauliflower florets

1 teaspoon black seeds
1 teaspoon crushed angelica (golpar)
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
1 teaspoon savory leaves
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
1/4 teaspoon red pepper
Salt to taste

1 tablespoon tamarind paste
2 tablespoons crushed rock candy (or 2 tablespoons of honey)
3-4 cups vinegar, add enough to cover everything

Method:

1. Place all the finely chopped  fruits, vegetables, dried herbs and spices in a large heavy-bottomed non-reactive to acid pan and place it on medium-low heat for 7-10 minutes. Turn the heat very low and simmer for 20-30 minutes until all ingredients are soft but not mushy. There's no need to add water, they'll cook in their own natural juices.
2. Add walnuts,dates, tamarind, rock candy and vinegar. Mix well.
3. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for another 10 minutes.
4. Remove from heat.
5. Spoon the pickles into sterilized canning jars (I used a 1 1/2 liter jar and a 1/2 litter jar)
6. Close lid and let cool to room temperature.
7. Store in a cool and dry place or refrigerate. 

This torshi is ready in two weeks and could be served with most Persian dishes.

I've never gotten used to the water bath canning method that is commonly used here. I still make pickles the old-fashioned way, the way that was done back home by my mother and my grandmothers without the water bath. But I do wash the cans thoroughly with soap and hot water before using them. For canning and sterilization tips please see the following link.

Enjoy! Happy Mother's Day!

Paloodeh: A Persian Sweet Cantaloupe Smoothie

This is a refreshing and nutritious drink made with ripe and sweet cantaloupes and is a superb thirst quencher. Cantaloupes are great, especially when served in the morning for breakfast. It is also wonderful to set up a beautiful tray of sliced cantaloupe and honeydew melon, along with watermelon, during scorching hot summer days or any other day of the year while they are in season. In our home, like the homes of most Iranians, having fresh vegetables and fruits daily is a must, and cantaloupe is one of the fruits/vegetables that we buy in large quantities when available.

Paloodeh, not to be confused with faloodeh (a Persian frozen dessert), is made with pureed cantaloupe, sugar, water, and optional rosewater, and is served chilled.

Paloodeh

Ingredients

Serves 2

-1/2 cantaloupe
-1 cup of ice cubes 
-1 tablespoon sugar (depending on your taste, increase or reduce the amount of sugar), honey, or any other sweetener may also be used instead of sugar
-1 tablespoon rosewater 
-1 tablespoon lime juice 

Method:

1. Wash the cantaloupe, cut it in half, remove the seeds, peel the skin off, and cut into small pieces. 
2. Place the pieces of cantaloupe into a blender, add sugar, ice, rosewater, and lime juice. Blend until smooth. 
3. Pour into a pitcher and chill for an hour or two. 

Serve chilled or with crushed ice.

Enjoy!