Happy Muslim Mama: Ramadan Journal 2013: Day 25 – Drink

There are a couple of all special Ramadan drinks we try during this month: mango lassi, falooda, various sweet milkshakes, the one that is our favourite is my mum-in-law’s limeade.  We down glasses of the stuff as soon as we open our fast.  She calls this lime drink shekanjavi, which is a Punjabi-fication of shekanjabin which is a Pakistani variation of the Persian drink called sekanjabin.  The original has vinegar and honey which is nothing like the version made in Pakistan or my mum-in-laws version.

Ingredients:

Juice of 2 small or 1 large lime

1 teaspoon salt

5-6 tablespoons of sugar (I know it’s a lot!)

Cup full of ice

Jug of water.

Method:

Squeeze the juice from the lime into a bowl and add a large dash of water and the salt and sugar.  Beat for a few minutes until the sugar and salt is dissolved in the juice and water.

Pour into a jug and add the ice.  Fill the rest o the jug with water.  Refrigerate until it is time to serve. 

In Pakistan the intense summer heat means that this kind of drink helps people to re-hydrate and replace some of the salt lost through the day.  There’s something about it that just hits the spot.

 (That’s mum-in-law in the background waiting for the fast to end)