Persian Mojito

Hello Michael, didn't you always tried to convince me that alcoholic drinks (at least in small quantities) are an integral part of civilisation and culture, and that I should not be so reluctant in sipping at least on your glas, when you ordered one of these various types of drinks and cocktails ? I think I was not ready then, and honestly I am still the one driving everybody home after a party, since I always stay dry. But this has little to do with a fundamental refusal of alcoholic drinks, it is simply a personal dislike of its taste, and the observation that alcohol abuse here in Sweden is a major social and health issue. But I am very much aware that wine and spirits were always part of human civilisation and part of the culture heritage. This came to my mind yesterday, when we visit a family of friends of my parents. They served a very delicious, traditional iranian drink called "Doogh". I liked its taste a lot, and when I asked the lady of the house how it is made, she took me to her kitchen and showed this very simple recipe. She took some ice cubes, lime juice, peppermint-leafes, a large portion of joghurt, mixed it all well up and filled it up with gased mineral water (look here, I made a photo of a glass Doogh for you).

Watching how she prepared the different ingredients so carefully, I experienced a sort of deja-vu. I couldn't help myself, but had the feeling that someone already shown me this recipe some time ago. And than it struck me like a sudden heureka: This was so similar to another summer drink that you had shown me several times in Munich, and I think was called Mojito. Just instead of Joghurt, you used to add white rum, right ? So when I proposed to the other guests at this afternoon, to call "Doogh" the "Persian Mojito", a loud and general discussion started about what was first. Some even asked to better call "Mojito" the "Western Doogh". Sometimes Iranians can be very patriotic, and want to show that all big values of world civilisation and culture somehow have their roots in ancient Persian.

Take Care
/ghazal

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 Oh Ghazal, my Dear, you are really full of phantasy. And its nice to read that even though you refused to drink the Mijito while you have been here in Munich, obviously you liked its colours and remembered the recipe. The one you have in your memories, is it like this one ?:

I hope that one day we will have the chance to try your Doogh and my Mojito. I think the two variants of summer drinks go together very well.

 Take Care, Michael








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Hello Michael, For your information, I tried Mojito! Its not my favorite, the leaves are always so annoying. otherwise it is nice. And here is a recipe for Iranian Doogh as given on this website


Ingredients (4 glasses)

1 cup Yogurt

3 cups sparkling Water

Salt

1/2 tbsp Dried or fresh mint 

Ice cubes 

---------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Ghazal, So because you disliked the peppermint leafes, thats why you always rejected the Mojito here in Munich ?? Too bad, you should have tell me this. I would have shown you how to drink it without getting the leafes inside. In Iran it may be difficult to find Mojito. And I dont know if the Basidj tolerate this. But when we go there, I could switch to Doogh for some time. It is still a year time, and may be I can convince you to come with us. Thanks for the recipe. It reminds me a bit of a delicious Bulgarian drink called Tarator. But instead of Peppermint, it has a lot of dill, green cucumber and garlik. Michael

The magnificance of Irans Nature

Dear Ghazal, Yesterday night the french-german TV channel Arte broadcasted this amazing two-series documentary about the magnificance of Irans Nature. And by chance (or perhaps not really by chance but due to a telepathic link of two like-minded souls), both Omid and myself were watching it. When we met in the morning at coffee break, we were both still out-of-breeze about the beautiful pictures, so we decided that we will travel Omids home-country next summer. In fact he already invited me several times, but I always had some issues regarding the current political tensions between the Regime in Tehran and the West. And Omid convinced me that he will teach me how to get around all hussles there. So we made firm plans for 2013, we will begin the Great Game again. Whats about you, Ghazal, will you accompany us ? It would be so much nicer, and of course we both would take care of you and protect you from the wild creatures all around.

To give you some taste of what will expect you if you come with us to visit the land of your ancestors, have a look at the Arte TV series (you can change the language to german in the tiny menue on the bottom, if you prefer):

The second serie goes to the north and north-west of Iran, visiting the reservation-area Golestan, Elburs Mountains and the Caspian Sea. It also shows peoples visiting Hafiz' tomb in Shiraz and reading his poems with great passion. Rare wild creatures such as Brown-Bear, the beautiful Ghazel, Leopard and Caucasian Deer. The animal photographs of the Serie were shot by Benny Rebel, a gifted expert of animal behaviour and the aesthetics of life.

(You can also watch the two documentaries full-screen size by pressing the tiny rectangular button below the videos.)

Super-Cooled Persian Lady

Dear Ghazal, I always knew that Persian people can be pretty cool. But who could ever think they are that cool. Watching this news from Sweden I even got the impression that the Swedish spectators dressed in their fur coats and heavy snow-boots are more freezing than the Iranian lady jumping into the ice-whole. All I can say about her courage is "Marg Bar Dictator".

   

 Before you go and try to do the same exercise, please make sure there is a pre-warmed towel kept for you outside.

White Dog listens to White Rabbit

Ivo, when we rescued you in the 2006 hot summer from a waste bin in the Bulgarian mountains, who could ever think that you will once appear in a music video for Jefferson Airplanes "White Rabbit". (The music might sound a bit weird, I tried to slightly raise the key and increased the pace, hoping that this way it might got unnoticed by Youtube DRM filter).