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Doum drink
Doum: sweet, gingerbread-scented drink steeped from dried doum palm fruit, a taste of Aswan and Nubia
Spice and herb sellers in the Aswan souk pile up the hard, glossy brown fruit of the doum palm, and Nubian households soak it into a cold, sweet drink for the hot months and for Ramadan iftar. The dried flesh gives a cloudy amber drink that tastes surprisingly like gingerbread or caramel, with a faint woody bitterness. Buy it crushed or as coarse powder at Egyptian and African grocers; whole fruit is extremely hard to break. Leaving it to steep too long is the mistake to avoid, because it turns bitter. Chef's tip: strain twice, once through a sieve and again through muslin, to remove the gritty fibre.
- Total time
- 15 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
- 5 ½ oz dried doum palm fruitcrushed or coarsely ground
- 6 ¼ cups water
- 4 tbsp sugaror to taste
- 12 ice cubes (optional)
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What you'll need
Spices & pantry
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Rinse 5 ½ oz dried doum palm fruit briefly in a sieve to remove dust.
Step 2: Bring 6 ¼ cups water to the boil, pour it over the doum in a heatproof jug or bowl and stir.
5 minStep 3: Cool, then cover and leave to steep in the fridge for 4–6 hours, until it is amber and smells of gingerbread. Don't go beyond 8 hours.
Step 4: Strain through a sieve, pressing on the pulp, then strain again through muslin.
Step 5: Stir in 4 tbsp sugar until dissolved and taste. Serve very cold over 12 ice cubes. Keep in the fridge and drink within 2 days.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 70 kcal
- Protein
- 1 g
- Carbs
- 17 g
- Fat
- 0 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does doum drink take?
- About 15 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 5 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 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.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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