Sharbat-e sekanjabin, mint and vinegar syrup with cucumber

• 30 minutes
• Prep 10 minutes
• Cook 20 minutes
• Serves 4

Our own recipe. The photograph is AI-generated.

• Vegan
• Vegetarian
• Gluten free
• Dairy free

Ingredients

• 200g caster sugar
• 100ml distilled white vinegar (also called spirit vinegar)
• 20g fresh mint, plus 4 small sprigs to serve
• Half a cucumber (about 175g), coarsely grated
• 300g ice cubes (about 2 trays)

Let's cook

1. Put the sugar and 250ml water in a small pan on a medium heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
2. Bring it to the boil, pour in the vinegar, then turn the heat down and simmer gently for 15 minutes until it has thickened to a light syrup that coats a spoon.
3. Take the pan off the heat, push the mint under the syrup and leave it to steep until the syrup is completely cool, about 30 minutes.
4. Strain the syrup into a clean jar, pressing on the mint, and throw the mint away.
5. To serve, put a spoonful of grated cucumber and a handful of ice in each of 4 tall glasses. Add 3 to 4 tablespoons of syrup to each, top up with about 200ml cold water and stir.
6. Finish each glass with a sprig of mint and taste: add a little more syrup if you like it sweeter.

Tips

• In Iran sekanjabin is also eaten as a dip for crisp lettuce leaves on a summer afternoon. Try it with little gem.
• The syrup keeps in a clean, closed jar in the fridge for up to 1 month.

Swaps

• Sparkling: top the glasses up with sparkling water instead of still.
• Less sweet: use 150g sugar; the syrup will be thinner and sharper.

Tags

• mint
• sharbat
• persian
• drink

None of the 14 allergens is in this recipe as written. Use distilled white (spirit) vinegar: wine and cider vinegars can contain sulphites, so check the label if you swap. Sugar, mint, cucumber and ice contain none of the 14.

Check every packet for allergens.