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Charbat (Algerian lemon drink)
شاربات: cloudy lemonade scented with orange blossom and softened with a splash of milk, poured at the Ramadan iftar
During Ramadan, as the afternoon wears on, vendors in Algiers' Bab El Oued, in Blida and Boufarik and in the old streets of Constantine fill plastic bags and jugs with ice-cold charbat for families to carry home before the call to iftar. It is lemonade made with lemon zest rubbed into sugar, a good splash of orange blossom water and a little milk, which turns it pale, opaque and silky and takes the sharp edge off the lemon. Served with zlabia, qalb el louz or straight after the dates and chorba, it tastes like lemon sherbet with a floral finish. The common mistake is adding the milk to strong, undiluted lemon juice, which curdles it into flecks; dilute the lemon fully, chill it, and only then pour in cold milk slowly while stirring. It is ready when it looks like pale lemon cream, smells of orange blossom and tastes sweet first, then tart. Lemon-and-milk drinks do not keep well, so make it the afternoon you serve it. Chef's tip: let the zest sit in the sugar for a good 10 minutes before adding water; the oils give charbat its perfume, far more than the juice alone.
- Total time
- 15 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the charbat
- 4 unwaxed lemonsabout 150 ml juice; zest 2 of them
- 5 ½ oz white sugar
- 5 cups cold water
- 1 tbsp orange blossom water
- ¾ cup cold whole milk
To serve
- 12 ice cubes (optional)
- 6 thin lemon slices (optional)
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Finely zest 2 of the 4 unwaxed lemons into a large bowl, add the 5 ½ oz white sugar and rub the two together with your fingertips until the sugar is damp, yellow and fragrant. Leave for 10 minutes.
12 minStep 2: Squeeze all the lemons. Pour 250 ml of the 1 cup cold water over the sugar and stir until it has dissolved, then add the lemon juice and the rest of the 4 cups cold water.
3 minStep 3: Strain through a fine sieve into a jug to remove the zest and pips, then stir in the 1 tbsp orange blossom water. Chill until very cold if you have time.
2 minStep 4: Pour in the cold ¾ cup cold whole milk in a thin stream while stirring constantly. The charbat turns pale and opaque; if you stir as you pour it stays smooth and does not curdle.
1 minStep 5: Serve straight away over 12 ice cubes, with 6 thin lemon slices in the jug, and stir before each pour.
1 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 120 kcal
- Protein
- 1 g
- Carbs
- 27 g
- Fat
- 1 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does charbat (Algerian lemon drink) take?
- About 15 minutes in total.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of unwaxed lemons?
- Lime, or 2 tbsp bottled lemon juice per lemon (no zest from bottled juice).
- What can I use instead of white sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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