Paloodeh

Here's one of my favourite refreshing summer drinks!

Recently I discovered it's called Paloodeh in Persian.

Whenever I make this drink it brings back fond childhood memories of the first time I had it in Kurdistan.

Thursday night was always a time to kick back and enjoy the weekend (Friday was the holiday!) We almost always had an engagement on Thursday evening either an invitation to someone's home or hosting guests in our home.

One of my father's distant relatives used to invite us frequently to their home, his wifes' a very sweet lady and she absolutely adored us children, we knew the couple before they were married because I remember my parents offering to host their wedding in our house because as university professions they were living out of the tiny dorm quarters at the time.
Their wedding, which is a whole other story was quite a festive, exciting and memorable event for us girls! It was probably the first Kurdish wedding I experienced.

When they moved to their own home they were extremely generous inviting us over all the time, I loved to explore their garden which had pomegranate trees growing in the front yard and many varieties of vegetables around the side of the house. Aunty used to let us tour the garden every time we visited and showed us the progress and changes she'd made.

On one memorable visit she presented us with these tall glasses filled with an orangy frangrant drink. As little kids my mother suggested I share the glass with my sister because it was simply too much to drink but Aunty was super nice and insisted that we can drink up and if we couldn't finish the rest then it was ok. Once I began sipping I was hooked!! This sweet perfumey drink was phenomenal!!!

My mother asked what it was and aunty told us they were melons crushed up with a lot of ice, no wonder because at that point we all had brain freeze but it was so worth it!

Ever since she discovered we loved it so much she made sure to make some for us whenever we were over <3


Now for the recipe:

Melons on their own are such a wonderful flavourful fruit that they make an elegant and easy drink that whips up in minutes. There is no milk or yogurt in this drink, it is extremely refreshing and simple!

All you need is a blender, some chopped (cored/peeled) cantaloupe, simple syrup and lots of ice. Blend until smooth and enjoy!

If you want a variation dress it up with some mint, maybe an infused simple syrup (saffron, ginger.. )

Give it a try, it's sure to impress! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.