Colorful sherbets... Unforgettable Taste
An Azerbaijani sherbet is a sweet cold drink made of fruit juice mixed or boiled with sugar, often perfumed with rose water. Sherbets (not to be confused with sorbet ices) are of Indian origin and they may differ greatly in consistency, from very thick and jam-like (as in Tajik cuisine) to very light and liquid, as in Azerbaijan. Sherbet is considered the most refined of soft drinks in Azerbaijan. After dinner, sherbets prepared from lemon, basil, mint, saffron, and other aromatic herbs, along with various fruits and berries, are served.
Sherbets, as a symbol of celebration, are consumed at weddings, dinner parties, banquets and similar events. They are also served with pilaf. When preparing sherbets and sweet drinks, hot or warm water and alcohol are infused with aromatic herbs for 8-12 hours, and the resulting mix is strained. Then, sugar is added; it is heated and left to cool. Other ingredients are then added according to the recipe, and, if necessary, it is strained once again, chilled and served.
Saffron Sherbet
Sugar - 120g, saffron - O.6g, basil or mint seeds - 0.4g, water - 800ml, ice - 80g.
Leave the basil or mint seeds, together with the saffron, to soak in boiled water for 3-4 hours. Then strain the resulting mixture and mix with sugar . Add the ice before serving. A teaspoon of citric acid may be added to improve the taste.
Caraway Sherbet
Caraway seeds - 0.4g, coriander seeds - 0.5g, cardamom seeds - 0.4g, sugar - 200g, water - 600ml, ice - 200g. Leave the caraway, coriander, and cardamom seeds to soak in boiled water for 3-4 hours, then strain the mixture and mix with sugar. Add the ice before serving.
Rose-Pomegranate Sherbet
Sugar - 80 g, rose water - 40 g, pomegranate juice - 400 ml, water - 500 ml, ice - 80 g.
Squeeze ripe Guloysha pomegranates and strain through gauze, then mix the juice with sugar. Boil and cool the water, add 1-2 tablespoons of rose water and add this to die pomegranate juice and sugar mixture. Pour into glasses with ice cubes. Serve with tika-kebabs and lula-kebabs.
Khoshab
Sugar - lOOg, dried fruit - 150g, water -1 liter, rose water -50ml. Pour hot, boiled water over the dried fruit {cherries, greengage plums, cornelian cherries, wild cherries, plums, peaches etc.) Leave die fruit to soak for 1 day while the water absorbs the taste, color, and flavor of the fruit. Strain the resulting mixture through gauze, mix with sugar and serve. Rose water may be added to khoshab to improve its flavor. Khoshab, as a sourish drink, increases the appetite and quenches a thirs. This drink is more common in the Nakhchivan region.
Try to cook at home and enrich your taste with some of the most popular Azeri Sherbets.
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