“(Musa AS) said, “No! Indeed, with me is my Lord; He will guide me.” (Surah Ash-Shura:62)
This is the statement that our dear prophet made when he was a crossroad – literally. As he ran with his followers to escape from the clutches of the Phoaroah and reach the sea, which is obviously the dead end, everybody panics and he assures everybody of the help of Allah. How many of us have such stern faith, that His help will come irrespective of whatever is happening in our life? It is not easy, yet not difficult too. Even though we may never reach the level of resolute His prophets had, we are given the choice of always keeping them as our role models to turn our lives towards complete “Tawakkul”. I myself struggle a lot, in every sense. Frustration, irritation, helplessness always seeps in – that is the way we are made. But when we tell ourselves that we have never been subjected to the difficulties our prophets have faced, Alhamdulillah, aren’t we better? That is the reason why the Qur’an has so many instances of how much difficulties they have gone through in their quest to declare the Oneness of the Lord, so that we become content, that ours is just a drop in the sea. Like I do every Ramadan, I am going to use this month to build up my stock of strength required, not that trouble will come, but if it does come, I am prepared to go through it, InShaAllah. 🙂 May Allah bless all of us with strong eemaan in Him and His Mercy… Aameen…
Since this Ramadan is really hot, I decided to do a back-to-back 3 drinks post this month. The first one in the series is one that is so frequently found over here – Qamardeen. Where this drink originated, I have no clue, but the only thing I know that this is so popular all across Middle Eastern countries. This is one drink you will find at all Arab restaurants, Iftar buffets, every Arab house and what not. Dried apricot sheets (fruit leathers) are used to make this delicious drink. During Ramadan, the sale of this dried apricot sheet goes up manifold so that explains why you can see gondolas of this item in every hypermarket before this month. It is a very thick drink, so you need just a small quantity to feel full. I was reading somewhere that some Arab households use this drink to dip long finger biscuits and eat during the month! That is really interesting! I already have a popsicle recipe made of these sheets, which was actually a pudding gone wrong! 😀 Moving on to how to make this favorite…
Qamardeen ~ Dried Apricot Drink
Ingredients
- 400 gm kamarudeen dried apricot sheet
- 3 cups warm water
- 1 tbsp orange blossom water
- Cold water as required
- Pine nuts for garnish
Instructions
- Shred the kamarudeen sheet and soak in the water for around two hours or till the sheet turns soft.
- Add the softened sheets along with the soaked water and orange blossom water into a blender and blitz.
- Chill for half an hour and serve garnished with pine nuts.
Notes
You can replace the orange blossom water with rosewater as well.
Wow that looks refreshing rafee!! I always thought that those sheets are eaten as such!! This drink looks very interesting!! Bookmarking to try!!
Thank you so much Priya…
Hi Rafeeda that sure is refreshing….never knew we cud make a drink of those sheets….:)
Thank you so much Biny… 🙂
Looks delicious!
How interesting. We call those dried apricot sheets “fruit leather” in the US and they’re sold as healthy snacks for children in the US. I never thought of making a drink out of them.
https://calmlycookingcurry.blogspot.com/2016/06/date-and-crispy-rice-laddoos.html
Thank you so much Bibi… Yes, it is like fruit leather…
thats interesting beverage…i always love beverages at Iftar it makes me refreshed…can i use dried apricots instead of sheets
Dried apricot would actually feel like normal juice… the sheets are already sweet and have a different flavor, so I am not sure of that… Thanks a lot Nisa…
Oh the drink looks super Rafee. So beautiful, pinned to drinks.
Thank you so much Meena…
Awesome recipe
-Priya
http://www.asmallbite.com
Thanks a lot Priya…
A different drink…… looks delicious dear…… 🙂
Thanks a lot Remya… 🙂
Your photography is amazing! loved all the clicks here. I have fallen in love with this. Btw dried apricot is not same as this. This can be classified as dehydrated I think as this is fruit leather and the process of making it is different. You can make fruit leather at home too. I really loved the clicks here..
Yeah, kind of a once in a while good one… hehe… Yes, I guess I have to get a pack and update the post with a picture of it, to show how it looks… I will update the post too… Thanks daa Fami…
interesting and a drink with dried apricots.wow
Thanks a lot Ramya…
the color is attracting me…nice drink during the season of Ramadan..
Thanks a lot Amrita…
Such a refreshing, healthy drink! Nice way to use dried apricots..
Thank you so much Priya…
The drink looks superb Rafee…so colourful and looks so yumm… Never knew we could make drink out of fruit leather…. Nice pics too
Thank you so much Anupa…
That looks so lovely! Love the presentation too!
Thanks a lot Kanak…
Not very familiar with these sheets…Looks yummy and healthy
Hi..just asking..is the apricot sheet covered in olive oil..i just bought and it is covered in olive oil..thanks
Hi Rahmat… Yes, apricot sheets are preserved with olive oil, you will get a smell of it… Hope this clears your query…
Thanks..for the info..here in Malaysia..apricot sheets are a new thing.
Here it is readily available as it is a drink for Arabs… Thank you for coming by…
I live here in the Cochella Valley in S. Cal. Dried apricots and dates are pleantiful because our climates are similar. I love snacking on the dried apricots. It’s amazing how they keep a long time and are still moist inside. They are so sweet and delicious. I’m going to start making blended drinks with them. Thanks for the ideas.
Hello, that is so nice to hear… Hope you will try them and enjoy too… 🙂