Fresh lime drink (sharbat)

In Iran, a hugely popular summer drink is “sharbat” often made from extracts of aromatic flowers and herbs (called aragh) or fruit juice. Sharbat is usually slightly sweetened, sometimes diluted with water, and always mixed with ice cubes. In a hot summer day when you visit a friend or family the first thing they would do is hand you a refreshing nice glass of sharbat – one type of or another.

Fresh lime juice sharbat is among the most popular in Iran, because unlike flower extracts, lime is easily found throughout the country. It is popular also because lime has an amazing quality to quench your thirst in addition to having so many health benefits. Here is how you prepare it (quite similar to lemonade except you use lime instead of lemon):

Ingredients (for one glass- use as scale for larger quantities):

• Water, 250 ml.
• Sugar, 3 tbsp.
• Fresh lime juice, 2 tbsp, or one plump juicy lime.
• Ice cubes, a few.

(In Iran, many families make sugar syrup at home in the beginning of the season; then they bottle and store the syrup and each time they want to make sherbat use a small amount of it.)

Method: First off, put an empty glass in the fridge to get it cool. Pour sugar and water in a bowl and stir well. Wash the lime, cut in half and squeeze all the juice and pulps out. Add to the bowl and stir. Taste for adjustment, you may prefer less sweet, more sour – absolutely your call! Take the glass out of the fridge, place a few ice cubes in it and pour the bowl’s contents over the ice. Enjoy!  Note: This sharbat should not be left inside or outside of the fridge more than 15 minutes or it would gradually lose its taste, aroma and health benefits. Also, never use a lime which has been cut open a while back.

Drink up and beat the heat!