Sharbat-e Khakshir - Persian Refreshing Summer Drink

Sharbat-e khakshir/khakeshir is a very refreshing Persian summer drink.  Although this drink is mostly known as a thirst quencher during hot summer days, it can be enjoyed all through the year as a delicious drink with many health benefits. Serving your guests ice-cold, lightly sweetened sharbat-e khakshir with a touch of rose water on a warm day is a great way to welcome them and make them feel at home.  Khakshir drink is a natural and herbal liver detox. It is also known to improve the skin and reduce fever, among many other benefits. Growing up in our home, khakshir drink wasn't made as a sugar-sweetened, ice-cold summer drink. My mother would give us khakshir all year round just for its medicinal purposes without adding any sugar or ice cubes.

Khakshir has the tiniest reddish-brown seeds that sit at the bottom of a glass of water. Upon stirring, the seeds start to move around and float up to the surface of the water and that's when you take a sip of the sharbat. Stir, watch the beautiful dance of khakshir in the water glass, sip and repeat.

The English term forخاکشیر khakshir on the small package that I purchased from an Iranian grocery store was teff.  In my research, I found out that khakshir is also called London rockets, scientific name Sisymbrium irio. That's not all, in addition to those two names above, to make the matter more confusing khakshir was referred to as mugwort on a few websites. Based on the limited information available on this subject, it seems that Sisybrium irio (London rocket) is a more correct term.

Good quality khakshir should be free of any dirt and soil, but due to the very small size of the seeds, harvesting and cleaning the crops is not very convenient. Therefore, thorough cleaning of khakshir is needed before serving. The best way to ensure that khakshir is free of dirt is to spoon the desired amount into a large glass, fill it with water, let it rest for five minutes, stir and pour the content into an empty glass. If there is any residue left at the bottom of the first glass, rinse it out. Stir the second glass and pour the contents back into the first one. Rinse out the second glass of any soil and dirt that may be left at the bottom. Repeat 2-3 times until there is no dirt left at the bottom of the glasses. Empty the water out, top with cool water and ice.

Sharbat-e Khakshir
Serves 2

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons khakshir, rinsed with cool water a few times as described above
1 tablespoon table sugar
1 tablespoon rosewater *optional
Ice cubes
Water

Method:

1. Pour the khakshir seeds into a medium-sized pitcher, top with 2 (8-ounce) glasses of water. 
2. Dissolve sugar in a little warm water, then add to the pitcher. Add a tablespoon of rose water, stir well, and pour into ice-filled glasses. For a slight variation, you can add a teaspoon of tokhm-e sharbati (chia seeds) to the drink.

Serve chilled.

Enjoy!

Sharbat Rivas - Rhubarb Sherbet

شربت Sharbat is a popular sweet drink made from fruits or vegetables and is served over ice. شربت ریواس Sharbat-e rivas (rhubarb sherbet) may not be as widely known or as popular as sharbat-e limoo however it's equally refreshing and visually beautiful with its stunning pink color!  Rhubarb's season is very short and each year I only spot them a few times in the farm market. I always buy rhubarb stalks as soon as I see them, knowing I may not find them anywhere for another year. Now, I see bundles of them where I live. Last year, I wrote about the delicious rhubarb savory dish Khoresh Rivas (Persian Rhubarb Stew).

 Rhubarb sherbet has a well-balanced sweet and tangy taste. However, it all depends on each person's tastes and palate. Personally, I like a sherbet slightly more on the tangy side than sweet.

Sherbets were a common summer drink in our home and my mother always knew how to make the best sherbet without a written recipe. In fact, all her cooking was done that way. Until one hot summer afternoon when my father called to say he was on his way home and was bringing along with him a prominent elderly family friend and a couple of his acquaintances. Bringing guests to our home without any prior invitation was not an unusual practice. From the early hours of the morning until the late hours of the nights, friends, neighbors, and family members would drop by and pay a visit and my parents were very comfortable and relaxed with that arrangement. On that day, my mother headed into the kitchen, filled up the kettle with water to brew some loose leaf tea, refilled the ghandan (sugar-cube container), washed some peaches, plums, and cherries, and then decided to first serve some ice cold sharbat-e limoo due to the hot weather. She poured some fresh lemon juice into a large glass pitcher, added some water and sugar as she would normally do, and stirred them together hurriedly. She tasted the drink but it didn't taste right, she poured in more lemon juice, one or two cups, perhaps. She quickly tasted the sharbat and felt it needed to be sweeter, she added a couple scoops of sugar, stirred, and tasted, it wasn't the right consistency. She diluted it with more water. Now it was too watery and she squirted some fresh lemon juice. In that moment of panic, my mother couldn't quite remember the right amount of each ingredient needed for this recipe and kept on adding and mixing lemon juice, sugar, and water until she was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell. This became the story she would tell us for years to come, how on that day she lost her touch for whatever reason and ended up with several gallons of sharbat that just tasted funny!

Madaram (My Mother)

Sharbat Rivas - Rhubarb Sherbet

Ingredients:

2 pounds rhubarb, washed, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 1/2 cup sugar
Juice of 1-2 lemons
1 tablespoon rose water *optional
Water
Ice

Method:

1. Place the rhubarb chunks into a large pot and pour in 3-4 cups of water to cover the rhubarbs. Bring to a boil on medium heat, stirring occasionally, and cook till rhubarb is completely soft about 5-7 minutes.
2. Remove from heat and drain the rhubarb in a fine-mesh sieve, pressing down on the pulps.
3. Pour the juice back into the pot, add sugar and bring to a gentle boil over medium-low heat until sugar is completely dissolved. Reduce heat and simmer until the rhubarb syrup thickens a bit.
4. Add a tablespoon of rose water for the added aroma in the last ten minutes.
5. Remove from heat and allow to cool before pouring the syrup into glass bottles and refrigerate.
6. Combine a cup of rhubarb syrup with a cup of ice, 3 cups of water, and lemon juice, mix well, taste and adjust to your liking. Serve chilled.

Enjoy!

Sharbat-e limoo - Lemon/Lime Sharbat

Sharbat-e limoo is a refreshing sweet and sour drink that is just perfect for hot summer days. This tangy yet sweet sharbat is one of the popular drinks served to guests in Iran. Persian sharbat are drinks made with fresh-squeezed fruit juice and sugar. A sharbat should be well-balanced and not too sweet or too sour. However, in our home, we like our شربت لیمو - sharbat-e limoo more on the tangy side.

The combination of lemon/lime juice and water has many health benefits and this refreshing lemonade/limeade is a perfect summer drink. You can adjust the amount of sugar to your liking.

Sharbat-e Limoo - Persian Limeade

Ingredients:

1 cup freshly squeezed lime juice or lemon juice  
1/2 cup sugar or honey 
3 cups water
1 cup ice
1 teaspoon lime/lemon zest *optional
2-3 drops of rosewater *optional

Method:

1. Place sugar and water in a small pan over medium-high heat. Bring to a gentle boil until the sugar dissolves completely. Set aside to cool.
2. Mix all ingredients, taste and adjust the level of sweetness to your liking, chill and serve.

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!