Ma-osh-shaeer

Ingredients

The base

• 300 gbarley
• or 200 g malt extract
• 2.5 litreswater

To flavour

• 200 gsugar
• or to taste
• juice of 2 lemons
• a strip of lemon zest

Fruit flavour

• 300 mlapple juice
• or peach, pomegranate or lemon
• or 3 tablespoons fruit syrup

To serve

• chilled, in bottles or glasses
• with kabab
• at any meal

Directions

1. Rinse the barley thoroughly in cold water. Rub it between your hands as you rinse. Rinse it until the water runs clear. Do not skip that step at any point. Put the rinsed barley in a large pot. Add all of the water to the pot.
2. Bring the pot up to a full boil. Cooking it takes about an hour. Let it simmer gently for a full hour. Stir it now and then as it goes. It takes on a mild grain flavour. Skim off any of the foam that rises. Add the strip of lemon zest to it.
3. Let it simmer for the last twenty minutes. Zest carries all the citrus oils. Take only the coloured outer layer. Strain the liquid through a fine sieve. Press the barley gently against the mesh.
4. Press gently rather than hard. That makes the drink thick and cloudy. Add the sugar to the strained liquid. Stir it until it dissolves completely. Taste it and adjust the sweetness.
5. Adjust it all to your own taste. Stir in the fruit juice or syrup. Add the lemon juice along with it. It also stops the drink tasting flat. Heat dulls fresh citrus considerably. Dissolve malt extract in hot water.
6. Stir it until it is completely smooth. Add the sugar and the fruit juice. Add the lemon juice in as well. It skips the hour of simmering entirely.
7. Let it cool to room temperature. Give it at least three full hours. Warm it tastes flat and heavy. Cold it is refreshing and clean. Shake or stir it before every pour. Serving it is always done cold. Pour it into glasses over ice. Serve it with kabab or any meal. It keeps three days refrigerated. Make it fresh each time where you can.

Technique

• Alcohol has been prohibited in Iran since the nineteen seventy-nine revolution, and malt drinks took its place at the table and on shop shelves; they are brewed like beer with the alcohol removed or never developed, then sweetened and flavoured with lemon, apple, peach or pomegranate.
• This recipe is a home barley water rather than the commercial brewed product, and the atlas says so plainly; malt extract sold for home brewing gives a much closer flavour and skips the hour of simmering entirely.
• Pearl barley carries a great deal of loose starch that makes the drink cloudy and gluey, so rinse it until the water runs clear, and press it only gently when straining, since hard pressing pushes that starch through.

Substitutions

• Malt extract in place of barley gives a stronger malt flavour and much closer result.
• Any fruit juice or syrup flavours it, with lemon and apple the most common.

Variations

• Plain unflavoured malt drink is sold alongside the fruit versions.
• The cooked barley left after straining goes into soups or salads.
• It is drunk particularly with kabab, where its sweetness suits charred meat.

History

Alcohol has been banned since the 1979 revolution, and malt drinks took its place on every table and shop shelf.

Frequently asked questions

What is Ma-osh-shaeer?

Ma-osh-shaeer is a drink from Iran: non-alcoholic malt drink in fruit flavours, drunk with kabab. Alcohol has been banned since the 1979 revolution, and malt drinks took its place on every table and shop shelf.

How long does Ma-osh-shaeer take to make?

Ma-osh-shaeer takes 20 minutes of preparation and 1 hour of cooking. The recipe makes about 2 litres. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Ma-osh-shaeer?

Yes, within limits. Malt extract in place of barley gives a stronger malt flavour and much closer result. Any fruit juice or syrup flavours it, with lemon and apple the most common.

What is the most important thing to get right in Ma-osh-shaeer?

Rinse the barley thoroughly in cold water. Rub it between your hands as you rinse. Rinse it until the water runs clear. Do not skip that step at any point. Put the rinsed barley in a large pot. Add all of the water to the pot.