If you walk into a pastry shop in Beirut (specializing in Arabic sweets), a good third of all pastries will be made with this dough, called kataifi or shredded phyllo dough. I saw  once  how this dough is made: A batter is piped through hundreds of minuscule little holes onto a hot griddle which forms the long hair-like strands of dough. In Beirut, this pastry is made in certain shops and can be purchased fresh. In the US, the option is to buy it frozen or in a bag (not frozen) imported from Turkey.

I prefer to buy it in a bag, which affords me the luxury of using only as much as I need; with the frozen dough you have to use the entire package within 10 days or so.

These  pastries are just easy to make at home; they can be prepared in advance; they get the “wow” response with  minimal effort.

INGREDIENTS: 8 servings

• 3 cups of kadaifi dough (either frozen or not)
• 1 1/2 cup of clarified butter (can use margarine or oil as well)
• 1 1/2 cup of mascarpone or ricotta or mozzarella or unsalted akkawi cheese
• 1/2  cup of syrup (or honey)

METHOD:

1. Grab the quantity of dough you need; untangle it (if it is frozen, it will be shaped as a long rope) and place in a bowl; pour the clarified butter (or melted margarine or oil) on it and with two forks combine thoroughly to make sure the strands are well-buttered.
2. Place small equal-size mounds in cupcake liners in a muffin tin. Let it sit there for a while (cover and place in the fridge overnight if you wish). When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350F and bake for 20 minutes or until the pastries are golden throughout.
3. Serve warm with a dollop of mascarpone or ricotta or cream and pass a small jug of syrup around to sweeten as desired.

NOTE:

Another option is to insert a piece of cheese in the middle of the pastry; the challenge here is to keep the cheese from hardening with the long baking time and yet make sure the pastries are golden and crispy. Best cheeses for this are mozzarella-type cheeses, which need to be soaked in water several times to remove any trace of saltiness. Middle-Eastern store sell a special cheese called “sweet cheese” made especially for pastries that could be used here.

After the pastries have baked and are golden and crispy, you can tilt the muffin tin and remove the extra butter or oil.

MAKING THE SYRUP:

1 1/2  cup of water, 1 cup of sugar: Boil for 10 minutes with a teaspoon of lemon juice. Add a teaspoon of rose water and orange blossom water at the end.

With Easter approaching, I have been in a frenzy of ma’moul making, stuffing them with pistachios, dates and now almonds.

However, unlike my grandmother who made them by hand all the way, I am using the food processor (kneading the dough takes less than 2 minutes) and the ma’moul molds.

I am also giving away  two  ma’moul molds to three different people.

Only available  to residents of the US or Canada. Offer ends on the last day of April 2011.

Conditions to win: Leave a comment here, telling me which of the molds you would like.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 cups of semolina flour (300 g.)
• 1 1/2 cups of farina or cream of wheat (300 g.)
• 2 sticks of butter (225 g.)
• 1/2 cup (4 ounces) of rose water and orange blossom water (use the combo of your choice, either 2 ounces of each or whatever mixture suits you) (125 g.)
• 14 ounces of almonds, peeled and slivered (400 g.)
• sugar syrup made of 2 cups of sugar, one cup of water, one teaspoon of lemon juice and one teaspoon of rose water and one teaspoon of orange blossom water (2 verres de sucre, un verre d’eau, une cuillère à café de jus de citron, d’eau de rose et d’eau de fleur d’oranger)
• Powdered sugar, if needed
• Rose water and orange blossom water, as needed

METHOD:

1. Melt the two sticks of butter in a saucepan over low heat; skim the foam if you can.
2. Place the semolina and cream of wheat in the bowl of a food processor; combine for 20 seconds. Keeping the machine running, add the melted butter through the feed tube in a steady stream. The dough should be sandy and dry at this point.
3. Add the orange blossom and rose water through the feed tube and keep the machine running for one or two minutes until the dough leaves the sides of the bowl and forms a mass. Open the lid and feel the dough; it should be moist and pliable. Transfer to a one-quart ziploc bag and keep in the bag tightly closed for one hour or longer. The longer it stays in the bag, the more it will soak up the butter and imbibe with the fragrance of the flower waters.
4. Make the sugar syrup by placing two cups of sugar and one cup of water in a saucepan and stirring a bit to dissolve the sugar; bring to a boil, add a teaspoon of lemon juice and boil for 10 minutes, not a minute longer; add a teaspoon of rose and orange blossom water to the syrup and let it cool. (The syrup can be prepared up to two weeks ahead and stored covered in the fridge).
5. Place the slivered almonds in the bowl of the food processor and pulse to chop them up as fine as you like; add around4 tablespoons of syrup to the almonds, tasting to see if the sweetness is to your taste.
6. Transfer the almond paste to a bowl and cover until ready to use. When ready, spread two large pieces of wax paper on a work surface. Make one inch balls of almond dough (or smaller, depending on the mold used); make larger pieces of semolina dough (I used a 1 1/2 inch cookie dough scooper to do this). Prepare the cookie sheets by lining them with baking paper. Heat the oven to 400F. Place a bowl of flour next to you (to flour the ma’moul mold). Spray and flour the ma’moul mold.

1. Take one ball of dough and press it between the palms of your hands. You will obtain a 2 1/2 inch disk. Place the smaller ball of almond paste in the middle. Enclose the ball with your fingertips and roll back and forth between your palms to smooth it out. Insert the ball in the ma’moul mold and press on it gently with your palm; flip over the baking sheet with a snappy movement until the mold releases the ma’moul.
2. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes: the ma’moul should be light gold, not brown.
3. Serve while still warm (or cooled) with some powdered sugar or a sprinkling of syrup on the cookies if you like.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If the dough stiffens after resting for a while, you will place it in a bowl (of a mixer or food processor) and knead it again for a few minutes all the while adding some rose or orange blossom water if it needs it (if too dry or stiff). Start with one tablespoon at a time.

This is the other pastry that would make its appearance in our house for the Easter holiday,  kaak b’ootah (aka kaak bel-ajweh); this one was my favorite because of the sweet date filling.

My grandmother would sit at the tiny kitchen table and would shape these by hand with brass clips. I would use tweezers or any clip that would allow you to pinch the dough gently yet not puncture it. You can also use a fork and just leave poke marks all around the kaak. (I used  tongs that grab the coals on a hookah).

These cookies have a symbolic significance, as the crown shape was meant to represent the crown of thorns that Christ wore while on the cross.

They are sweet from the dates and the light sprinkling of powdered sugar.

The dough and the date filling  have  no added sugar.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 cups of fine semolina flour (300 g.)
• 1 1/2 cups of farina or cream of wheat (300 g.)
• 225 g. (8 ounces or 1 cup)of melted butter
• 3 ounces) of rose water (plus more to add the next day)
• 1 ounce of orange blossom water (plus more to add the next day)(total of about 100 g. more if needed)
• DATE PASTE: 9 ounces of date paste (275 g.)
• 2 Tablespoons of softened unsalted butter (30 g.)
• 1 teaspoon of rose or orange blossom for the date paste if needed (to give extra moistness)

METHOD:

1. Place semolina and farina (cream of wheat) in a large mixer bowl. Mix 30 seconds to combine the two.
2. Add the melted butter and mix until the dough is sandy and crumbly.
3. Add the rose water and orange blossom water and mix some more until the dough leaves the sides of the bowl, adding more rose water or orange blossom if necessary, a tablespoon at a time. Place in a ziploc  bag and set aside for a few hours or till the next day.

The next day:

The dough may be stiff; place in the bowl of a mixer or food processor and gradually break it up adding some orange blossom and rose water  until the dough is smooth and moist and malleable. Add the liquid one or two tablespoons at a time. (I used 4 tablespoons total). In some cases (depending on humidity) you may not need to add the extra waters.

Making the kaak:

1. Place the date paste and butter in the work bowl of a food processor. Run the machine for a few seconds until the paste has incorporated the butter and is smooth and shiny.  If needed, add a teaspoon of rose or orange blossom to the paste. Transfer to a bowl and get to work!
2. Place a long sheet of wax paper on the work surface. Take a lump of semolina dough and form a rope 1/2 inch in diameter, almost as long as the paper (less a few inches, as rolling it will stretch it).
3. Place another piece of wax paper on top of the dough and using a rolling pin, flatten the rope.
4. Form a thinner rope of date paste and place in the middle of the semolina dough. Now enclose the semolina dough around the date paste and rolling it back and forth seal it well.
5. Cut 4 inch sticks in the dough and take each stick and close the extremities by pinching them together.
6. Place the formed crowns on parchment-lined baking sheets. Pinch the top if desired with a fork or tongs.
7. Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 20 minutes or longer until the cookies are dry and crisp, but still pale golden in color.
8. Cool and sprinkle with a bit of powdered sugar. Keep in a tightly closed box or jar.

The ma’mouls were an Easter tradition in our house established by my grandmother who made them by hand from start to finish. No wooden ma’moul molds for her or  food processor. She used her fingers, knuckles and palms. To shape the cookies, she used malkat, those brass tweezers that I finally found in Beirut at a small shop down the street run by a 90-year young man.

Ma’mouls are basically a shortbread cookie filled with nuts (or dates or sweet cream). Except the flour used is semolina and farina (aka cream of wheat). They are now sold year-round in pastry shops in Beirut, but were usually made at home for holidays, as a family tradition.

Are they hard to make? No, they are easy:  Just plan on some time to let the dough rest and invite someone to help shape them (more fun).

INGREDIENTS: Makes about 36, and up to 50 depending on the size of the mold used.

• 1 1/2 cup of semolina
• 1 1/2 cup of cream of wheat
• 2 sticks of unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup of rose water and orange blossom water (pour into a measuring cup 3 ounces of rose water first and the rest can be orange blossom water)
• 14 ounces of pistachios
• Sugar syrup: 2 cups of sugar, 1 cup of water, 1/2 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice, 1 teaspoon of rose water, 1 teaspoon of orange blossom water. OR use powdered sugar, as needed. (I favor syrup)
• Extra butter (2 or 3 tablespoons) as needed

METHOD:

1. MAKE THE DOUGH: Place the semolina and cream of wheat in the bowl of a food processor (or a mixer). Run the machine for a few seconds to combine the two.
2. Melt the sticks of butter over low heat, skimming as much of the foam as possible. Transfer the butter to a measuring jug with a spout and pour into the food processor with the machine running, using the feed tube. A dough will form and it will be sandy.
3. Pour the rose and orange blossom water through the feed tube and run the machine for a couple of minutes to incorporate. When the dough leaves the sides of the bowl, it is ready. Transfer the dough to a ziploc bag (one quart should be enough) and seal the bag well. Let the dough rest in the bag for one hour or longer. (My grandmother let the dough rest overnight). The longer the better.
4. MAKE THE FILLING: Place two cups of sugar and one cup of water in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer and add 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice. Simmer gently for no more than 10 minutes. Add the last 30 seconds one teaspoon of rose water and one teaspoon of orange blossom water. Let the syrup cool.
5. Place the pistachios in the bowl of a food processor; add about 4 tablespoons of syrup, 2 tablespoons of softened butter (optional) and pulse until the pistachios are the consistency you like. Some people like to get a paste, I prefer the nuts to be chopped medium-fine.
6. MAKING THE MA’MOULS: Use cookie droppers if you have them to save time and form balls of dough and elongated balls of stuffing and line them up on a large piece of wax paper. Grab one ball and press it between the palms of your hand, in order to get a disk, about 3 inches long. Place the nuts in the middle and enclose the disk with your fingertips. Roll the ball between the palms of your hand until the seam is smooth and not visible.
7. Grease and flour a ma’moul mold and insert the ball of stuffed dough; press with your palm a bit and with a decisive movement, flip the mold onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
8. Bake the ma’mouls for 20 minutes in a 400F oven or until pale-golden. Do not let them brown! Serve either warm or cooled sprinkled with either some powdered sugar or dabbed in a little of the sugar syrup that you have made earlier. (I prefer the syrup, makes them more moist).

NOTE:

Ma’moul molds are found in all Middle-Eastern stores. Traditionally, ma’mouls were sprinkled with powdered sugar and distributed to friends and neighbors and relatives for religious holidays. I prefer to use a syrup which gives the dough extra moistness.

If you find that your dough is too dry, simply add more rose or orange blossom water to make the dough moist and pliable. Letting the dough rest for one hour or longer allows the semolina flours to soak up the butter and imbibe with the fragrance of the rose and orange blossom.

The sugar syrup can be made up to two weeks ahead and stored covered in the fridge till needed. Any extra syrup can be used to sweeten anything from smoothies to pancakes to muffins to salad dressings, puddings, etc.

If adding all the rose water and orange blossom sounds too much, you can substitute with water or milk.

Do you like to end your main meal with a touch of sweetness?

I don’t really want a thick slice of cheesecake; just a little something sweet, not too sweet, just right.

Ashtalieh is a cream pudding; it comes from ashta, which is the Arabic word for cream; here, I simply added a handful of pistachios and instead of serving it in a bowl as is the custom, I used a cookie dough scoop to make little balls of ashtalieh, to savor individually, for a touch of creamy sweetness at the end of a good dinner.

Not a smidgeon more.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup of whipping cream
• 1 1/2 cups of whole milk
• 3 Tablespoons of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of rose water or orange blossom water or a bit of each
• 1/3 cup of cornstarch
• 1/3 cup of ground pistachios
• 1/2 cup of whole pistachios, chopped coarsely

METHOD:

1. Place the cream and milk in a measuring jug; pour 1 1/2 cups of this mixture into a saucepan. Add the sugar and stir over low to medium heat until the sugar is dissolved.
2. Add to the remaining mixture the cornstarch and mix well to dissolve. As soon as the milk and cream in the saucepan starts to steam, pour the cornstarch mixture over it, stirring with a rubber whisk constantly. It will thicken in a matter of minutes. Add the flavoring of your choice and stir. Add the pistachios and set aside or pour into small bowls.
3. If using the ball idea, grind some pistachios in a coffee grinder. Dip the cookie dough scooper into the ground pistachios first and then into the ashtalieh, and form little balls. Sprinkle with additional ground pistachios or leave as is. Keep in the fridge until serving time. Serve cold.

NOTE: If you are so inclined, you can stir into the ashtalieh in the last few minutes of cooking a dash of mastic pebbles ground with a dash of sugar.

A notable treat carried by cart vendors alongside the common kaak. I wanted to make a luxury version at home. So I made it with a rich brioche dough (I just added a bunch of egg yolks). You can make it the street-way, without all these yolks. It is a special treat, ubiquitous during Ramadan.

INGREDIENTS:

• All-purpose unbleached flour 550 g. (19.5 ounces)
• 1 Tablespoon of dry yeast
• 1/4 cup of warm water to proof the yeast
• warm milk, 200 g/ (6 ounces)
• melted butter, 50 g.(4 Tablespoons)
• 2 Tablespoons of corn oil (or any oil)
• sugar (75 g.)
• 1 teaspoon mahlab
• 5 large egg yolks
• Date paste (12 ounces)
• Unsalted butter (100 g. or 7 Tablespoons) (for the date paste)
• 2 teaspoons of rose water
• 3 Tablespoons of toasted sesame seeds (optional)

METHOD:

1. Place the flour, sugar, salt and mahlab in the bowl of a mixer. Mix for a few seconds the dry ingredients. In the meantime, proof the yeast in a small bowl with a teaspoon of sugar and 1/4 cup of warm water till it bubbles.
2. Add the melted butter and oil to the flour mixture and mix, adding the warm milk and eggs gradually, along with the yeast mixture. The dough will be sticky. Plop it onto the counter and add a bit of flour to make it easier to handle. Form into a ball and place in a bowl letting it rise a few hours.
3. While the dough is rising, prepare the date filling; place the date paste in a food processor, add the butter cut into chunks and process for a few seconds adding the rose water. Process until the paste looks smooth and shiny.
4. 
5. 

1. When the brioche has risen (doubled in size), flip the ball of dough onto the counter, form into a long and fat sausage and cut in equal-size pieces. Flatten each piece with your fingers into a 6 inch circle. Place a ball of date paste (using a cookie dough scoop makes it easier) on that circle and pinch the circle closed and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet to rise slowly. Flatten the circle gently with the tip of your fingers. Brush with a bit of oil if you wish to keep the dough shiny.
2. After a couple of hours, using kitchen scissors, cut a small one inch slit all around the brioche. Let it rise again for an hour or longer. When ready to bake, brush with some beaten egg and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.
3. 
4. Preheat the oven to 400F, place the brioches in the oven over another cookie sheet (to prevent the bottom from burning). Bake for 20 minutes or until the brioches are nicely browned. Cool and serve.

To all my Chinese friends, I wish you a happy New Year.

A Kurdish subculture exists in Lebanon made up of folks who for reasons of persecution or poverty have had to leave their land and seek employment here.

I befriended many Kurds while in Lebanon. One of them, Asma, is a Kurdish woman originally from Turkey that I consider a role model.

So imagine my excitement when I discovered a blog on Kurdish cuisine, edited by Gula Welat.

This recipe is adapted from her blog. These cookies are from a rice-producing region from the town of  Kermanshah; hence the use of  rice flour (used in Lebanese cuisine as well to thicken puddings) and rose water and cardamom. Rice flour is sold in Middle-Eastern and Asian grocery stores and online.

The cookies are delicious, faintly sweet, delicate and fragrant. Their texture resembles shortbread cookies. Their color is eggshell.

INGREDIENTS:

• 300  g. Rice flour (8 ounces)
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
• 130 g. white granulated sugar (4 ounces plus one half tablespoon)
• 1 large egg
• 125 g. melted butter (1 stick of unsalted butter or 4 ounces)
• 1 to 2 tablespoons of rose water
• 1 teaspoon of ground cardamom

METHOD:

1. Melt the butter in the microwave for one minute. Place in a mixer bowl the egg and the sugar. Beat until the mixture is fluffy, add the melted butter and rose water. Add the rice flour slowly (mixed with the baking powder) and finally add the cardamom powder.
2. Place the dough (which should be moist but firm) in the fridge, wrapped in wax paper, overnight.

1. The next day, remove the dough from the fridge and let it sit at room temperature 30 minutes to soften a little. Either use a greased and floured cookie mold or roll out and cut with a cutter of your choice. Place on a cookie sheet lined with baking or parchment paper. Bake in a preheated 325F oven for about 15 minutes until baked thoroughly but still white. Serve.

The French have their macarons, the Italians their macaroni, the Lebanese  their makaroons. Closer to the Italian version, Lebanese makaroons are made with flour (semolina or plain flour) and water into a dough and can be savory or sweet.

You will get a sweet version today; these are also called “Zeinab’s fingers” assabeh  Zeinab. Flavored with anise, fennel and mahlab, fried and coated with syrup; these sweets are served on religious holidays or anytime someone drops by for a visit (with a cup of Turkish coffee). They are light and sweet.

Their texture, resembling beeswax, is obtained by pressing the dough against a sieve.

Makaroons will keep for at least a week  in a tightly closed jar in the fridge.

INGREDIENTS: Quantity will yield 75 to 100 pieces, depending on the size.

• 3/4 cup of semolina flour (125 g. or 4.5 ounces)
• 3/4 cup of unbleached all-purpose flour (125 g. or 4.5 ounces)
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1/2 Tablespoon of anise seeds and 2  Tablespoons  of fennel seeds
• 2 teaspoons of ground anise
• 3/4 teaspoon of mahlab
• 1/2  cup of water
• 1/3 cup of a mixture of olive oil and melted ghee (can be all ghee or oil-just a light olive oil)
• 1 cup of prepared syrup flavored with orange blossom water and rose water (thick syrup)
• 4 cups of oil for frying the makaroons

METHOD:

1. Place the fennel and anise seeds in a small saucepan with the water. Let the boil boil for a few seconds, then turn off the heat and cover the pan in order to infuse the spices for 15 minutes or longer. Strain the water.
2. Place the semolina flour and all-purpose flour in a mixer bowl; add the baking powder and mahlab. Mix well for a few seconds and add the oil and melted ghee. Add the strained and flavored  water and mix until the dough obtained is firm but soft and shiny, adding more water if necessary, one tablespoon at a time (or more flour if the dough is too wet). The dough should be firm but moist.
3. Cover the dough and let it rest for a few minutes; pinch pieces of dough the size of an egg, roll between the palms of your hand until a rope is formed. Cut into one inch pieces and press each small sausage into the basket of the fryer or any colander or sieve with a perforated pattern. Remove the dough by pinching it a little, forming a small “tunnel” in the back of the cookie. Lay the makaroons side by side on a piece of wax paper and fry them in batches for 3 minutes or until they become golden in color.

1. Dry them in the basket for a few seconds, then dip them in the syrup for 3 minutes or until they are well-coated with syrup. Remove with a perforated spoon and let them air-dry for a few minutes. Serve or store in a tight container in the fridge until ready to offer to guests.

MAKING THE SYRUP:

For makaroons, the syrup needs to be  a bit thick so that it will cling to the cookie, forming a shiny fragrant coating. Place 1 1/2 cups of sugar in a saucepan and pour 3/4 cup of water. Bring to a boil, stirring from time to time and boil for 15 minutes. Add a teaspoon of fresh lemon juice to the syrup and boil one minute longer; add one teaspoon of orange blossom water and one teaspoon of rose water to the syrup, boil a few seconds and turn off the heat. Let the syrup cool.

TIP: If the syrup is too thick, add some water (1/4 cup or more) and boil a little bit to dissolve and lighten the syrup.

Rummaging through the kitchen cupboards at my parents’ house can yield interesting discoveries: I found a jar that contained  a viscous, caramel-colored paste. Can you guess what it was?

I called  the jar’s donor, Um Elias,  mountain-dweller, mother of six and seasoned farmer.

Her answer was: ” Debess el-enab, from your grapes!” i.e.

GRAPE MOLASSES.

So I set out trying to think up of ways to use this molasses, which was traditionally used to  sweeten food in Lebanon prior to the appearance of (disease-causing) refined white sugar.

You can find grape molasses online or at Greek or Middle-Eastern stores.

If you are wondering why you should bother, think about how molasses will not only sweeten your food without any detrimental side effects, but also how it contains minerals and other nutrients from the food that it comes from.

This recipe is from the West Bekaa, a region that has been growing grapes for thousands of years. Adapted from  Chef Ramzi’s  Culinary Heritage of Lebanon.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup of coarse bulgur (or fine bulgur), preferably unbleached.
• 1 cup of water
• 2 generous tablespoons of grape molasses (or to taste)
• walnuts or other nuts (optional)
• half teaspoon of rose water and orange blossom water (optional)

METHOD:

1. Place the bulgur in a bowl and soak in tap water for 15 minutes or so. After that lapse of time, drain it and set it nearby.
2. Pour the water in the pan. Add the grape molasses and stir a bit to dissolve it.
3. When the water simmers, drop the drained bulgur and cook, covered, for about 20 minutes or until the grains have absorbed the liquid and are soft.
4. Serve lukewarm or at room temperature with some chopped walnuts if desired.

NOTE: The original recipe calls for an equal volume of water and grape molasses, which I thought was excessive. It also calls for drizzling some olive oil on the surface.

How would you get around a city if the streets had no signs? If nobody paid any attention to turn signals or traffic lights?

I am getting used to rolling down my window and stretching my left arm when I want to turn left. The one advice I keep hearing is” Be bold, this is the only way to survive driving in this town”.

Tonight, I was picking up a friend and called her asking for directions; she said: ” Drive 200 meters and  you will see an army tank, turn left and take the street in front of the Epi d’Or bakery, next to the Hamasny nut roaster,  then go up 300 meters and turn right in front of the red house, then go down towards the torn down  gas station, you will see my street, except it is a one-way ”

I found the tank, unfortunately  there were several army tanks in her neighborhood  and so it was the wrong tank. I did see a red house, but it was  also the wrong house, the shade of red of the house she had in mind was more a burgundy; I finally stopped the car in the middle of a street, next to a market she knew, and she came and met me.

During Ramadan, nourishing  drinks are  on display in the front shelves of every market in town. This one has a light and sweet flavor and of course munching on the pine nuts while drinking it is part of the pleasure.

METHOD:

Pour three  tablespoons of grenadine syrup in a 12 ounces glass ( or substitute pomegranate juice); add water and a teaspoon of rose water. Stir. Add some pine nuts (previously soaked in water for one hour or longer). Serve.

NOTE: If using pomegranate juice, I recommend squeezing a couple of juicy pomegranates (the way you would an orange) and adding some sugar or sugar syrup to sweeten it well.