avocado & bravado : a food blog » beverage

sahlab & a giveaway

Rose — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 08:12:58 +0000

Sahlab is a popular wintertime drink throughout the Middle East. The drink is made with milk and salep, a flour made from the tuberous root of a species of orchid, Orchis mascula. Salep has a faintly floral taste, but the drink is mainly consumed for its thick texture. Other flavorings, such as orange blossom water and rose water, are added to the drink just before serving and it is traditional to dust the cup with a couple pinches of cinnamon.

Pure salep is notoriously difficult (and expensive!) to come by outside of Turkey, so you’re more likely to find powdered mixes with cornstarch, sugar, and a small amount of salep sold in Middle Eastern groceries. I’ve also seen people ditch the salep altogether and use cornstarch in its place. Even when only made with cornstarch, sahlab is a great drink for those chilly winter nights and a good alternative for those who don’t like tea or coffee. Salep is also a key ingredient in Turkish ice cream (dondurma), which is known for its chewy texture and resistance to melting.

And, oh yeah! A giveaway. Many months ago, a company I had never heard of approached me and asked if I would like to host a giveaway on my site. I went along with it, despite their somewhat slimy SEO tactics because in the end everyone likes free stuff, right? In the months since the giveaway, they’ve approached me two more times asking me to host another giveaway and sweetening the deal by adding $25 each time. I could offer a $75 gift card for a site I’ve never shopped at before. Maybe the winner will buy something related to food. Maybe not. Instead, I’ve decided to host a giveaway of my own. I often post recipes with ingredients that, depending on where you live, may be difficult to find. If you’ve ever wanted to experiment more with Arabic cooking, but haven’t had the chance, one lucky person (maybe you!) will be receiving some of my favorites – pomegranate molasses, tahini, fava beans, sumac, and sahlab.

To participate, leave a comment (just one!) and tell me what you would like to cook with any of the ingredients offered in the giveaway. The winner will be randomly chosen on March 8th.

Also, I will be taking a small break from blogging. My mom will be visiting San Francisco this week and I’ll need a couple days to recover after she leaves. See you next month!

Sahlab
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2 cups milk (I always use whole milk, but use low-fat or non-fat if you’d like)
sugar, to taste (if using pure sahlab powder or cornstarch, most if not all pre-packaged sahlab mixes already include sugar)
2 tablespoons sahlab powder or cornstarch

Optional flavorings and garnishes:

Rose Water (1/2 teaspoon per serving)
Orange Blossom Water (1/2 teaspoon per serving)
Almond Extract
Vanilla
Shredded coconut
Chopped nuts (pistachios, almonds, hazelnuts)
Ground cinnamon, cardamom, or nutmeg, for dusting

Add the milk (and sugar, if using) to a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir occasionally until hot, then add the sahlab powder or cornstarch and stir constantly until the mixture thickens. If adding extra flavorings, like rosewater, orange blossom water, almond extract, or vanilla, stir those in once the drink has thickened. Divide the drink into individual cups and garnish with chopped nuts, coconut, and dust with cinnamon, cardamom, or nutmeg.

Serves 2

Try the recipe index for more ideas.

classic lemonade

Rose — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 01:52:36 +0000

My love for lemons goes back. Way back. Way back to the days of when I was a wee lass and had to endure lectures from my dentist about how lemons would ruin my teeth. I, of course, never listened to him. And now that I no longer have dental insurance, I don’t have to listen to him at all. Hah! Wait, that’s not actually funny. Lemons are a staple of my diet, I add lemon juice to everything. I’ll even eat lemons as is, but that makes for awkward stares when out in public. I love, love homemade lemonade. No storebought brand compares, they’re always way too sweet for me. When I make lemonade, I like to err on the sour side. If you prefer a sweeter lemonade, just double the amount of sugar in the recipe.

Tip: Get twice the juice from lemons by microwaving them. It may sound a little silly, but this actually works. Gently poke the skins of the lemons with a fork and place them in a microwave for 20 seconds on high. Then roll them on a cutting board with your hands until the flesh of the lemons begins to soften. Cut and squeeze (or use a juicer) as usual.

Also, I’ll be announcing the winner of the giveaway on the 18th, so there’s still time to participate! Go, go, go, go! And good luck!

Classic Lemonade
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Simple Syrup:
1/2 cup sugar (double the amount for a sweeter lemonade)
1/2 cup water (double the amount if using 1 cup of sugar)

For the lemonade:
1 cup lemon juice (about 4 or 5 lemons)
6-8 cups of water (adjust to taste)

For serving (optional):
Mint
Lemon slices
Strawberries

Prepare the simple syrup. In a small saucepan, heat water and sugar over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Stir often. Remove from heat and set aside.

Meanwhile, juice the lemons. Add the lemon juice and simple syrup to a pitcher. Stir in 6 cups of water and add up to 2 cups more, if needed. Refrigerate until cold and serve with fresh mint, lemon slices, or strawberries.

Serves 8-10

Try the recipe index for more ideas.

almond milk

Rose — Sat, 15 May 2010 05:37:14 +0000

Once I returned to the States after I had been living in Egypt for several months, I could no longer drink cow’s milk without suffering horrible, horrible consequences. So… I switched to soy milk because that’s what people who can’t digest cow’s milk drink, right? Drinking soy milk was fine, I didn’t have any complaints. Then I discovered almond milk and never looked back. I loved the rich creaminess of almond milk. Over the next couple years, I slowly began incorporating cow’s milk back into my diet (I missed ice cream, okay?) and I haven’t had any problems drinking it for over a year now. I used to buy almond milk fairly regularly, but I decided it would be much more fun to start making my own. This recipe only yields 4-5 cups of almond milk, though. Double, triple, or quadruple the recipe as you please. Just try to finish it within a week – and don’t forget to shake/stir before serving.

Almond milk
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1 cup almonds
4-5 cups water
1 tablespoon sugar or other sweetener (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
pinch of salt (optional)

Place almonds in a large bowl, fill with water, and cover for 24 hours.

Rinse the almonds several times and place them in a blender, along with water, sugar, vanilla, and salt (if using). Blend for a couple minutes. Now, strain the milk through a fine sieve or colander over a cheesecloth. Pour almond milk into a pitcher and refrigerate.

You’ll be left with a lot of ground almonds. If you have a dehydrator, turn it into almond meal. If not, use a little less wheat flour in your baked goods and add some of the ground almonds. Be creative and experiment with them in other ways, like adding a dollop to a breakfast smoothie, oatmeal, or pancakes. If you waste them, just think of how disappointed your grandmother would be. You know, the one who grew up during the Depression, ate ketchup spaghetti, never wasted even a single piece of bread, and walked five miles to school. In the snow. Barefoot. Don’t disappoint her!

Pour yourself a glass and enjoy!

Not quite what you had in mind? Try the recipe index.

qamar el-deen drink (apricot drink)

Rose — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 00:46:24 +0000

Qamar el-Deen (literally “moon of the religion” in Arabic) is a drink made from dried apricot leather. It’s especially popular during Ramadan, which is still about four months away. In fact, the last time I had qamar el-deen was during Ramadan in 2006. Up until now, I didn’t realize how easy it is to prepare at home. Though delicious, it is very sweet so cut back on the sugar if you don’t have much of a sweet tooth. The key ingredient, apricot leather, can easily be purchased at Middle Eastern groceries. If you happen to be in San Francisco, I know it’s available at both Haig’s on Clement and Queen of Sheba Grocery on Sutter.

Qamar el-Deen Drink (Apricot Drink)
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1 pack apricot leather (17.6 oz, or 500g)
8 c water
1/3 c sugar
1 T orange blossom water (optional)

Cut the apricot leather into pieces and place them in a large bowl. Add sugar to the bowl.

Boil 3 cups of water and pour the water over the apricots and stir. Cover for a few hours or overnight, stirring occasionally.

Transfer the apricot mixture to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Pour the mixture to a large stockpot and add the five remaining cups of water. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil and stir in orange blossom water, if using.

Strain the mixture through a sieve and refrigerate until cold. Serve over ice.

Serves 8

Not quite what you had in mind? Try the recipe index.

tamr hindi (tamarind juice)

Rose — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 07:16:58 +0000

When I first arrived in Cairo in October 2006, it was Ramadan. The days were still long and hot in October and it wasn’t unusual to spot shopkeepers, policemen, and security guards napping in the final hours of fasting. But once the maghrib (sunset) prayer erupted, signaling it was iftar – time to end the fast, the city would burst with energy. Cars would honk endlessly, children would be running around in excitement, and people would be on the streets giving away free food and drinks to the poor or whoever happened to walk by (side note: in more residential neighborhoods, it would be eerily quiet – the only sound you’d hear would be the clanking of dishes as families got together to break their fasts). The first time I had tamarind juice was during iftar. I was in a cab and a man on the street stuck his head in the window and gave both the cab driver and I a bag of juice.

I took a sip, surprised by the sour and sweetness and asked the cab driver, “what is this?”

“Tamr hindi,” he replied.

I had never heard of tamr hindi before, but from my limited Arabic I knew it literally meant “Indian date”. And for the rest of my time in Cairo, I constantly sought out fresh juice stands and hunted down street vendors who sold tamr hindi.

See where I took out a bite on the bottom? I couldn’t help myself!

Tamarind is a fruit native to Africa, but it’s also heavily used in Indian, Southeast Asian, Portugese, and South American cuisines. It’s unmistakibly sour, with just a hint of sweetness. The sourness from a tamarind is more complex and has a lot more depth than the sourness from say, a lemon. Tamarind is often used as a flavor enhancement, rather than on its own. I’m only familiar with tamarind in juice form, though. The tamarind juice I used to drink in Egypt was a bit sweeter than the batch I made, so I encourage you to double the amount of sugar if you prefer a sweeter drink.

Where to buy tamarind: If you happen to be in San Francisco, I picked up my tamarind from Queen of Sheba Grocery on 1100 Sutter street. If you live elsewhere, your local Middle Eastern, Asian, Caribbean, or Mexican grocery may carry tamarind. And of course, there’s always the Wal*Mart of the Internet: Amazon.com.

Tamr hindi (Tamarind juice)
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1 14-oz block wet tamarind
1-2 C sugar (I used 1 C and it’s still on the sour side, if you want something a bit sweeter, kick it up to 2 C)
10 cups water

- Cut tamarind into four pieces and place in a large bowl. Pour 2 cups of warm water into the bowl and let the tamarind soak for 20-30 minutes.

- Scoop out one piece of tamarind from the bowl and place in a blender with another cup of water. Pulse for only a couple seconds – just to break up the large chunks and pour into a saucepan. Repeat with the other three pieces of tamarind and pour the water from the bowl into the saucepan.

- Add four more cups of water to the saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Lower the heat and stir in the sugar. Simmer for 15 minutes.

- Take the saucepan from the heat and strain the mixture through a colander/sieve over a cheesecloth into a large bowl or another large saucepan. Once all the liquid has been strained (and has cooled down!), squeeze as much liquid as you can from the cheesecloth. Discard the pulp.*

- Once the juice has cooled down, pour it all into a pitcher and refrigerate. Serve over ice while dreaming of warmer weather.

* If anyone has any ideas on what to do with the remaining pulp, let me know! I felt bad for throwing it all away. I’m sure I’ll be making this again and I don’t want to waste any of the pulp.

Serves about 8-12

Not quite what you had in mind? Try the recipe index!