Iranian Summer Drinks

It's summertime in New York, and most days are hot and humid. One of the best ways to cool off and make the heat more bearable is with refreshing summer beverages. These drinks are often prepared in large batches and enjoyed year-round, but there's something special about sipping them on a hot day in good company.

After months of quarantine and isolation, sharing these cool traditional drinks with loved ones feels especially meaningful. Enjoy them outdoors on a picnic, lounging by the pool, sitting on the terrace, relaxing under a shady tree in your yard, or even gathered around the kitchen table. 

Below are a few of the most popular Iranian drinks and some of my personal favorites. I have written about these in the past, and I'll be sharing links to the recipes.

After taking a year-long hiatus, I'm excited to be back blogging again! I've updated some photos and made a few tweaks to the recipes.

Doogh - Yogurt Drink

A refreshing, savory drink made with a simple mix of yogurt, water, and a pinch of salt, served ice-cold with plenty of ice cubes.

Sharbat-e Sekanjabin

An ancient Persian sweet-and-sour syrup made with sugar or honey and vinegar, traditionally served chilled with cucumber and mint.

Sharbat-Limoo - Limeade or Lemonade

A refreshing Persian drink made with just lime or lemon, sugar, and water. 

Sharbat-e Khakshir

Rinse khakshir a few times with cool water. Add water and ice, then stir well, and enjoy. Add a little sugar or rosewater if you like for extra flavor. 

Sharbat-e Hendooneh (Watermelon Cooler)

Add cubed watermelon to a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a serving glass, add ice, and finish with a splash of lime.

Enjoy!

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:

1. In a small saucepan, combine honey and 1/2 cup of water. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat. 

2. Add the mint, boil for 10-15 minutes. Add vinegar, simmer for an additional 5-7 minutes. 

3. 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!

Sekanjabin: A Sweet and Sour Ancient Persian Syrup and Drink

سکنجبین Sekanjabin is one of the oldest sweet and sour syrups in Iran, dating back to ancient times. Its name comes from serkeh (vinegar) and angabin (honey), and it was traditionally made with honey as its natural sweetener. This refreshing syrup, and the drink prepared from it (sharbat-e sekanjabin), is a summertime staple across Iran. 

I'm sharing this recipe in the middle of winter, inspired by a reader who recently asked if I had a sekanjabin recipe. Growing up in southern Iran, where summers are long and hot, sekanjabin was more than a drink; it was a ritual. On warm afternoons, my mother would place a bowl of this syrup in the center of a tray, surrounded by several crisp heads of lettuce. We would gather around the table or spread a picnic blanket under the shade of a tree, dipping lettuce leaves into the syrup. 

 Almost every time we had sekanjabin, my mother reminded us that sekanjabin was not only delicious but also medicinal, filled with healing properties, and a good source of vitamins. She always made sekanjabin with homemade grape vinegar. 

1- Sekanjabin with Sugar and Vinegar

Ingredients

-1/2 cup white vinegar or apple cider vinegar
-2 cups sugar
-2 cups water
- 1 small bunch of fresh mint, washed
-2 small seedless cucumbers, washed, peeled, and shredded (for the drink)Lime rind *optional

Method

1. In a heavy-bottomed pot, combine sugar and water. Place on medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
2. Reduce the heat and gently boil for 10-15 minutes. 
3. Add the vinegar and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the mixture slightly thickens. Taste and adjust the sweetness to your liking. (I often add 2 extra tablespoons of vinegar for a tangier syrup.)
4. In the last couple of minutes, add the fresh mint to the syrup. 
5. Remove from heat and let cool completely. Remove the mint leaves before serving.

Pour the sekanjabin into a small bowl and place in the center of a platter of lettuce leaves. Note: Sekanjabin is quite sticky!

Sekanjabin Drink (Sharbat-e Sekanjabin)

Ingredients

- Sekanjabin syrup (from recipe above)

-2-3 small seedless cucumbers, grated

-A few drops of rosewater 

-Ice and cold water

-Fresh mint leaves and lime slices, for garnish

Method

1- In a large pitcher, mix 1 part syrup to 4 parts water, adjusting for sweetness.

2-Stir in the grated cucumbers and a few drops of rosewater.

3-Add ice and serve chilled.

2- Sekanjabin with Honey and Vinegar

Ingredients

-1 1/3 cups honey (clover or orange blossom)
-1 cup water
-2/3 cup vinegar (white or apple cider vinegar)

Method

1. Follow the same cooking directions as in the sugar-and-vinegar recipe: combine honey and water in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat, stir until dissolved, then add vinegar and simmer until slightly thickened.
2. Skim off any foam that forms on the surface. 
3. Taste and adjust the sweetness. 

Pour the cooled syrup into a clean glass jar; seal it tightly and store it in a cool place.

Enjoy!