Sekanjabin – Persian Mint, Honey, Vinegar Syrup #recipe from Molly MacRae

  

Sekanjabin is a traditional Persian syrup with roots in medieval medicine. Back in those days it was used to calm fevers, asthma, and digestive issues. These days it’s more often mixed with water and served over ice for a cool, delicious, sweet and sour summer drink. You might think of it as a distant cousin to lemonade—lemonade with a lovely difference.

The traditional drink calls for grated cucumber in each glass. I didn’t have a cucumber the day I made my sekanjabin but will definitely try that next time. I did use the undiluted syrup as a sauce over grilled zucchini, cabbage, and pineapple. It was superb! And next time I make it I might even try it over a bit of vanilla ice cream.

You’ll find a free, downloadable, printable pdf of the recipe below the cooking directions.

Sekanjabin

Ingredients

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons cider vinegar, divided

1/2 cup honey

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (Kosher less salty than table salt. If you don’t have kosher salt, use slightly less table salt.)

1 1/2 cups lightly packed fresh mint leaves

 

Directions

In a small saucepan over medium, combine honey, salt, and 1/2 cup of the vinegar. Simmer until large bubbles appear and the mixture reduces to about 1/2 cup, 7 to 10 minutes.

Off the heat, add the mint, pushing it into the syrup. Let cool to room temperature. Strain into a bowl, pressing the leaves. Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of vinegar.

Cool. You can keep your sekanjabin in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.

The recipe doesn’t say what to do with the mint leaves after you press them. I chopped them up and sprinkled them on the grilled zucchini, cabbage, and pineapple after spooning on the syrup.

 

click here for a free, downloadable, printable pdf of this recipe

 

 

Out now!

All Shell Breaks Loose

Book 3 in the Haunted Shell Shop Mysteries!

 

On North Carolina’s Ocracoke Island, Maureen Nash sells exquisite seashells to locals and tourists—with Bonny the shop cat and the ghost of a Welsh pirate for company. And when needed, she steps in to help the police solve a murder . . .

Dr. Irving Allred is boasting around town that he’s about to get his hands on an authentic haunted sword. But minutes after Maureen hears the story, a woman walks into the Moon Shell, sword in hand. She found it while walking her bulldog on the beach—and its blade is stained with what looks like blood. Looks like it’s time to call the sheriff’s department.

Allred is furious that his prize is now in police custody—and even more agitated that an unknown buyer was trying to outbid him. He’s convinced the sword will lead him straight to the ghosts he’s been hunting. He’s not the only one on the Outer Banks who’s been searching for spirits, though. An odd visitor also showed up at Maureen’s shop claiming the ability to sense them . . . though somehow she didn’t seem to notice Maureen’s spectral friend hanging about.

When a man who’d been camping nearby is found cut down along the shore, Maureen starts providing some unofficial assistance to Captain Rob Tate by digging into the island’s maritime history. But it’s not the only mystery she’s facing—because the shop’s resident ghost is seeing ghosts himself . . .

 

 

Happy reading!

 

The Boston Globe says Molly MacRae writes “murder with a dose of drollery.” She’s the author of the award-winning, national bestselling Haunted Yarn Shop Mysteries, the Haunted Shell Shop Mysteries, and the Highland Bookshop Mysteries. As Margaret Welch, she writes books for Annie’s Fiction. Her short stories have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and she’s a winner of the Sherwood Anderson Award for Short Fiction. Visit Molly on Facebook and Pinterest and connect with her on Instagram or Bluesky.