Mint and Cucumber Quencher - Sekanjabin - سکنجبین

 

 

Nothing quite beats a perfect quencher on a hot summer day.  Mint and vinegar work magically together and you will twitch involuntarily when drinking this summer beverage.  Sekanjabin is a syrup essentially made of vinegar (serkeh) and anjabin (honey).   Traditionally made of honey but nowdays it is made of sugar.  Sekanjabin is watered down into a drink, or served on it's own as a dip for lettuce leaves.  On the last day of Naw Ruz celebrations (Sizdah Bedar) it is a custom to eat lettuce leaves with Sekanjabin. 

 

There are many versions of Sekanjabin recipe, but here is my version:

 

Ingredients

4 cups sugar

2 1/2 cups water

1 cup red wine vinegar (the cheap stuff's better for this)

fresh mint, as much as you can get, crushed lightly

grated cucumber

1. Bring the water, sugar and vinegar to a boil and then simmer until reduced ( 20 minutes is a good rule-of-thumb).
2. Remove from heat, add the mint and allow to steep for about 15 minutes to an hour.
3. Remove mint completely and drain syrup into glass bottles.
4. Dilute between 8:1 to 15:1 with water and serve with plenty of ice and grated cucumber.