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Jallab
Jallab: iced date and grape molasses drink with rose water, pine nuts and raisins
During Ramadan in Beirut and Sidon, street sellers ladle jallab from big glass jars at sunset, and families keep a bottle of the dark syrup in the fridge all summer. Made from date and grape molasses with a hint of rose water, it tastes of caramel and dried fruit, and it is served over crushed ice with a spoon for the pine nuts and golden raisins floating on top. Bottled jallab gets its smoky edge from incense smoke; this home version skips that and is made straight from the two molasses. Chef's tip: soak the raisins in the drink for five minutes before serving so they plump up and sink less.
- Total time
- 5 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
To serve
Method
0/3 doneStep 1: In a jug stir ¼ cup date molasses (dibs tamr) and 2 ½ tbsp grape molasses (dibs inab) with 100 ml of the ½ cup cold water until fully loosened; molasses is thick and sinks if it goes straight into the full jug, which is the common mistake.
Step 2: Stir in the rest of 2 ¾ cups cold water and 2 tsp rose water. Taste: it should be sweet but not cloying; add a splash more water if needed. Add 1 oz golden raisins and leave for 5 minutes.
5 minStep 3: Fill 4 tall glasses with 10 ½ oz crushed ice, pour over the jallab and scatter ⅔ oz pine nuts on top. Serve with a long spoon.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 190 kcal
- Protein
- 2 g
- Carbs
- 40 g
- Fat
- 4 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does jallab take?
- About 5 minutes in total.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
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