Amardeen Margarita with pistachios

May 5, 2010  •  Category:

 

It is 94F today in Dallas; who wants to eat? not me!


Give me a margarita, with chips and salsa! (It is Cinco de Mayo today, after all!)

Do you know how many Lebanese folks immigrated to Mexico? A LOT! In fact the man who beat Bill Gates in terms of billions to his name, Carlos Helu Slim is from Lebanese immigrant parents, whose late wife was Lebanese  and is  dating a Lebanese woman, Lisa Halabi, King Hussein of Jordan’s widow. How about that for gossip!

I made these margaritas to show my neighbor, Mary, the self-proclaimed margarita queen (she is Irish), that it can be made with something other than the mix that is sold at the liquor store.

This one is made with a product that comes from Lebanon, Amardeen nectar. Amardeen is an apricot paste, beloved by Lebanese kids and adults alike. The amardeen nectar is used to make an apricot  drink very popular  during Ramadan. The actual apricots are harvested in Syria, near Damascus, and are exceptionally tasty.

The pistachios on the rim of the glass are to show Mary that you can use something other than salt, which everybody knows is not good for you, anyway!

Sahtak! Salud! Cheers!

To  make the margaritas:

3 portions Tequila

1 portion orange liquor (Triple Sec, Grand Marnier or whatever)

6 portions Amardeen syrup (mixed with water) Substitute apricot nectar

1 portion fresh lemon or lime juice

  1. Place all the ingredients in a blender with some ice cubes (if you like it frozen); puree the mixture till slushy.
  2. Brush some lemon juice on the rim of the glasses, both inside and outside; dip in chopped pistachios. Serve with chips.

NOTE: 2 Tablespoons of the Amardeen syrup diluted in one cup of water; add more syrup depending on taste.



Comments

52 Comments  •  Comments Feed

  1. Sarah Galvin (All Our Fingers in the Pie) says:

    I learn so much from your blog! This looks fantastic. And pistachios, what a creative idea. I can hardly wait until it is 94F here, too!

  2. Stella says:

    Nice Joumana! These sound delicious and creative-something I want to drink. We haven’t been as hungry either since the heat has started to set in-strange b/c I’m usually more like Miss Piggy.
    Oh, and isn’t Selma Hayek half Lebanese and half Mexican. I think her father immigrated to Mexico, no?

    • Joumana says:

      Yes, Selma Hayek is from Lebanese parents; her name is typical Lebanese; guess who else is Lebanese/Colombian? Shakira. She visited her parents home village in Lebanon a few years ago.
      Also, Gloria Estefan’s husband Emilio is from Lebanese parents and they went back and visited Lebanon 3 years ago and loved it.

  3. Evel@CheapEthnicEatz says:

    LOVE original cocktails and LOVE the pistachios on the rim. Cheers!

  4. momgateway says:

    ..with margaritas this good…who’d want to eat when it’s burning outdoors?

  5. Lori says:

    A neat twist on Margaritas. I like it. I always wish to sample everything on your blog.

  6. sweetlife says:

    love the drink, also the pistachios..oh just great texture

    sweetlife

  7. citronetvanille says:

    OH la la, ca m’a l’air trop bon ca, en plus avec du nectar d’abricot (pas sûre de trouver l’amardeen)! rien a voir avec les mélanges tous prêts qu’on trouve au supermarché! Je ne bois pas beaucoup d’alcool, mais alors ta petite concoction je vais l’essayer un de ces soirs!

  8. Olive says:

    too bad I can’t drink, that looks really good, I love the pistachios on the rim! 🙂

  9. 5 Star Foodie says:

    A delightful margarita! So pretty with pistachios along the rim!

  10. SYLVIA says:

    Drinking healthy doesn’t mean to say goodbye to a little alcohol . This is an exotic sparky and fresh drink.Everyone has their own way of giving their own method of preparing margarita, some with mango, others with strawberry, and now with apricot natures gorgeous color, we had fish taco’s today at work cause it was cinco de mayo If we only had this drink to wash it down with.

  11. Donna says:

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    Email us your mailing address at fabfrugalfoodie[at]gmail[dot]com.

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  12. Soma says:

    I am going to show this margarita to my hubby then I will have him make this for me.

    Not wanting to eat, having something chilled is exactly what we were talking about today..loads of watermelon and fruits….

  13. Marie says:

    Oh I want to make this, I have the apricot paste!

  14. Sushma Mallya says:

    Lovely way to present this one, looks fantastic

  15. Rosa says:

    A great drink!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

  16. touria says:

    hi joumana
    love this drink hmmmmmm

    you’re tagged please see the following page

    http://cuisnetouria.e-monsite.com/rubrique,j-ai-recu-un-tag,695830.html

    kisses

  17. Priya says:

    Thats an excellent margarita, looks sooo prefect!

  18. physician assistant says:

    Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed browsing your blog posts. In any case I’ll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you write again soon!

  19. oum mouncifrayan says:

    coucou, me voici de retour sur les blogs,
    je te remercie de tes visites,
    bisous

  20. Joanne says:

    I’ve never heard of Amardeen before but it sounds delicious. I love your gossip! Way better than the NY Post or US Weekly 😛

  21. Brian Reyes says:

    Wow Joumana, that looks tempting! And it’s only one in the afternoon…
    Greetings from Gib,
    Brian

  22. Ivy says:

    I am not much of a drinker, so I’ve never drank a margarita before but it does look refreshing and tempting to try.

  23. Pierre says:

    (Jaw dropped)… WOW!!!!(bookmark)
    I don’t know where to start… I am speechless.
    Joumana, your whole blog is a precious gem. I love it! Word of warning, I will be trying out a lot of your recipes here. Simplicity at its best.
    And Thank you for visiting my blog too.

    Sweet Greetings..

  24. fimère says:

    alors là tu m’épates avec cette margarita!!! originale et riche en saveurs
    bravo et bonne journée

  25. 12th Man says:

    very cool twist.

    margarita mix should be outlawed. too many simpler and better tasting versions out there.

    3 oz fresh lime juice, 3 oz triple sec, and 4 oz premium tequila make a perfect margarita for two. no bottles full of preservatives, HFCS, and food coloring. simple.

  26. T.W. Barritt says:

    Wow! I’ll bet it was a great party!

  27. A Canadian Foodie says:

    YUM! And would you believe Spring had Sprung – it was all green and warm with whispers of breeze and promises of lazy days – when a storm rushed in and we are all covered with snow up here! Itis RARE – but it happens. Last time was in 1979. So, my mood for a cool drink is not happening right now. What pistachios do you use? Do you find a difference in them? Where do they grow in Lebanon, and how? I bought some Sicilian ones, and they were really beautiful and the depth of flavour was marginally better than whatever else I usually buy. origin not specified.
    🙂
    Valerie

    • Joumana says:

      Valerie

      Sorry you have to deal with snow! Wow! We are in t-shirts here.
      RE Pistachios, yes, some are grown in Lebanon but I think for the most part they are imported from Iran. I will find out more when I go there this summer. I always go to the best roaster in town Hamasni and get my pistachios there. Otherwise I buy them at the palestinian grocer here and they are already shelled and fine for baking.

  28. anncoo says:

    WOW! This looks so classic. Hope I can try this.

  29. 12th Man says:

    Do you mind if I link to this for my “May Must Try” list?

    Thanks!

  30. Rachana Kothari says:

    What a creative twist to the margarita and loved the pistachios on the rim.

  31. joudie kalla says:

    Hi Joumana, this looks so good! I love amardeen. What a clever idea. Very creative and looks so tempting!!!

  32. Erica says:

    What a fantastic drink! Love the pistachos 🙂

  33. Sridevi says:

    Loved the presentation and the drink.

  34. wis3384 says:

    Dear Joumana
    We love your blog and we ask if you can add http://www.downtownbeirut.com (downtown beirut) to your blog roll too

    Thank you !!!

  35. Océane says:

    je veux en boire ça doit être absolument bon

  36. Sandi says:

    that looks delicious!!! I love margaritas

  37. nisha says:

    louve margaritas in any form 🙂

  38. Bria @ WestofPersia says:

    What a brilliant concoction you’ve created here. Love amardeen. That stuff is soooo good. The best apricots I’ve ever eaten, I ate in Syria. And yes, you’re right, a lot of pistachios are indeed imported from Iran.

  39. Lentil Breakdown says:

    Wow, Never heard of Amardeen, and what a wonderful concoction with the pistachios! They grow in Turkey and here in California as well.

    Am a fan of Queen Noor. An update on her love life is always good to know. : )
    I grew up in Dallas and still have family there, and I do not envy you with the heat!

  40. shayma says:

    no way, Lisa Halabi is dating him? ok, coming back to the topic at hand, i LOVE this post- i want to get my hands on some amardeen now from a Lebanese or Syrian grocery store. Joumana, all your posts are yummy, including the one with the sour plums above- i love sour fruits, we were forbidden from eating them as a child- lest we should get a sore throat- i dont know if that is a myth or the truth. love love love this cocktail. x shayma

  41. TastyTrix says:

    What a cool idea. You obviously had me at “drink.”

  42. Me, Myself & Pie says:

    MMM….margaritas are so yummy and this one looks amazing. I love the color, the flavors and most of all…the pistachios. How creative!

  43. OysterCulture says:

    Oh my goodness this sounds so refreshing – I must find this amardeen. I cannot wait to try and astonish friends and family

  44. TomPier says:

    great post as usual!

  45. I Sicilian says:

    I love your blog! Simple and clean and the recipes are basically the type of food that I love to eat, not complicated, simple ingredients and healthy. I’m glad I found you. I think we have a lot in common, hope we can become blog friends!

  46. Julie says:

    Il est super original ton cocktail, c’est tout à fait ce que j’aime (petite, mon jus de fruit préféré était le jus d’abricot, je prenais tout le temps ça aussi). Faudra que je tente, ça m’a l’air délicieux!!

    Gros bisous!

  47. Bookcase Plans says:

    I come back here quite often and always find more fascinating and informative things to read . Thank you for putting so much effort into your work.

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