In Tehran’s hot summer day where temperature of +40 Celsius weren’t uncommon, my favourite drink was sekanjebeen. I remember growing the mint myself in our backyard along with other herbs. My grandmother, Bahiyye who was originally from the famous city of Shiraz was particularly an expert in brewing the mint with just enough sugar and vinegar (and sometimes even with some saffron) to make the drink as delicious and heavenly as it tasted!
I also remember dipping romaine lettuce stalks in the thick syrup of Shekanjebeen and enjoy it that way as it is common in Iran as well.
Our Shekanjebeen drink was quite homemade! I grew the mint and my grandmother made an excellent vinegar out of all the leftover embellished grapes that we had harvested from my father’s vineyard.
Nothing went to waste those days.
Now living in Canada, I am pleasantly surprised how much easier it is to grow mint in Ontario due to our fertile soil and plenty of rain which allow mint to flourish like a weed!
Mint does indeed flourish where there is ample moisture in the soil, which was not easy to find in the arid climate of my home town, Tehran. Frequent watering was a must but was well worth it.
Comments