Ingredients
Syrup
- 800 gsugar
- 300 mlwater
- a squeeze of lemon, optional
Seeding
- cotton string or wooden skewers
- a little extra sugar, for coating
Optional
- a strand of saffron, for colour
- a pinch of ground cardamom
To serve
- green tea
Directions
- Cut lengths of cotton string and tie them to skewers laid across the tops of your jars, so they hang without touching the sides or the base. The string must hang free.
- Heat the water and add the sugar gradually, stirring, over a medium heat.
- Keep adding sugar until no more will dissolve however long you stir, which makes a saturated solution. A weak syrup simply sits there for a week and nothing happens, so keep adding sugar until it genuinely refuses to take more.
- Bring it to a boil for 2 minutes, then take it off the heat. Add the saffron or cardamom now if you want colour or scent.
- Pour it warm rather than boiling, because boiling syrup dissolves the seed crystals straight off your string. The cover keeps dust out while still letting water evaporate slowly, which is what drives the crystals.
- Break the amber crystals off and store them in a jar.
- Serve them alongside green tea, either dissolved in the cup or held in the mouth while drinking. It is also taken as a folk remedy for colds and sore throats, dissolved in hot tea, and that is a customary use rather than a proven treatment.
Technique
- Amber nabot comes from a longer boil or from a little added colour; plain crystals are clear.
- It keeps indefinitely in a dry sealed jar.
- Nabat, nabot and nabāt are the same thing across Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asia.
Substitutions
- Wooden skewers in place of string, which grow crystals equally well.
- Any granulated sugar, though refined white gives the clearest crystals.
Variations
- Saffron nabot, which is golden and faintly aromatic.
- With cardamom or rose.
- Grown on skewers as sugar sticks.
History
Crystallised on strings from boiled sugar syrup and also taken as a folk remedy for colds.
Frequently asked questions
What is Nabot?
Nabot is a snack from Tajikistan: amber rock sugar crystals dissolved in green tea or sucked alongside it. Crystallised on strings from boiled sugar syrup and also taken as a folk remedy for colds.
How long does Nabot take to make?
Nabot takes 20 min plus 5 to 10 days crystallising of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes about 400 g. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Nabot?
Yes, within limits. Wooden skewers in place of string, which grow crystals equally well. Any granulated sugar, though refined white gives the clearest crystals.
What is the most important thing to get right in Nabot?
Cut lengths of cotton string and tie them to skewers laid across the tops of your jars, so they hang without touching the sides or the base. The string must hang free.
