Shanineh

Ingredients

The base

• 600 gthick yoghurt
• or laban
• about 500 ml cold water
• or more, to taste

To season

• 1 teaspoonsalt
• or to taste
• 1 teaspoondried mint
• crushed, optional

To serve

• plenty of ice
• a sprig of fresh mint
• in tall glasses
• well shaken

Sometimes added

• a crushed garlic clove
• a squeeze of lemon
• a pinch of dried thyme

Directions

1. Salt replaces what sweating loses. It does not make medical claims about it. Salt and water together are refreshing. Shake it in a sealed jar or bottle. Add the ice and then shake it hard. Pour it straight into glasses. It should be thin and drinkable. Adjust it all to your own taste. This is a cold dairy drink entirely.
2. Discard it if it smells at all wrong. Put the yoghurt in a large jug. Whisk it smooth before adding water. Thick yoghurt lumps if water goes in fast. Break the yoghurt down entirely first. That prevents lumps in the drink.
3. Whisk the cold water in gradually. Add the water a little at a time. Whisk it smooth before the next. Taste it as you thin the drink down. Stop when it pours like thin milk.
4. Stir the salt right into the drink. It should taste quite clearly salty. Taste it and adjust from there. Under-salted it tastes flat and thin. Add it in gradually and keep tasting. Crush dried mint between your palms. Rub it between your hands first. Refrigerate it until genuinely cold.
5. Pour it into a jar along with ice. Fill it no more than two thirds. It needs room to move and froth. Seal the lid genuinely firmly. Hold the lid down as you shake it. Shake it hard for about twenty seconds. Check the lid before shaking hard.
6. Hold it down firmly with your palm. Shake it over a sink to be safe. Pour it out into tall cold glasses. Pour it over the ice if you like. Ice in the glass keeps it colder.
7. Add a sprig of fresh mint to it. Serving it is done genuinely cold. Serve it immediately after shaking. The froth settles within minutes. Shake each serving of it fresh. Shake or stir it before pouring. It is drunk very cold from a glass. Shake it well before every pour.

Technique

• This is a cold dairy drink and must stay refrigerated throughout, keeping about two days. Yoghurt drinks sour further as they sit, which is normal up to a point, but a sharply sour smell means discard it.
• Whisk the yoghurt smooth before any water goes in and then add the water gradually, whisking smooth before the next addition — thick yoghurt lumps badly if water is added fast.
• Fill the shaking jar no more than two thirds and check the lid is genuinely sealed before shaking hard, holding it down with your palm — a poorly sealed jar sprays everywhere. Shake it over a sink to be safe.

Substitutions

• Most shanineh is now made by thinning yoghurt rather than as the churning byproduct; true churned buttermilk is thinner with a different tang, but thinned yoghurt is close enough and is what most households make.
• A blender does the same job as shaking and gives an even foamier result; a whisk works acceptably. Crushed dried mint, a crushed garlic clove, a squeeze of lemon or a pinch of dried thyme all appear in versions, though the plain salted one is most common.

Variations

• The salt is essential rather than optional: under-salted it tastes flat and thin, over-salted it becomes undrinkable, and the line between them is clear — add it gradually and taste. Salt replaces what sweating loses, which is a real practical reason in desert heat, and the atlas records that traditional reasoning without making medical claims.
• It should be thin and drinkable, pouring like thin milk rather than a thick yoghurt drink; roughly equal parts yoghurt and water is a starting point and the ratio varies considerably.
• Serve it immediately after shaking, since the froth settles within minutes and it separates as it stands — water rises and solids sink, which is entirely normal, so shake or stir before every pour. It is drunk alongside heavy meals rather than before or after, cutting rich food, and is served with mansaf particularly.

History

What is left after churning butter from yoghurt; Bedouin households drank it through the summer.

Frequently asked questions

What is Shanineh?

Shanineh is a drink from Jordan: salted buttermilk drink shaken with ice, served with heavy meals. What is left after churning butter from yoghurt; Bedouin households drank it through the summer.

How long does Shanineh take to make?

Shanineh takes 10 minutes of preparation and no cooking at all. The recipe makes serves 4. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Shanineh?

Yes, within limits. Most shanineh is now made by thinning yoghurt rather than as the churning byproduct; true churned buttermilk is thinner with a different tang, but thinned yoghurt is close enough and is what most households make. A blender does the same job as shaking and gives an even foamier result; a whisk works acceptably. Crushed dried mint, a crushed garlic clove, a squeeze of lemon or a pinch of dried thyme all appear in versions, though the plain salted one is most common.

What is the most important thing to get right in Shanineh?

This is a cold dairy drink and must stay refrigerated throughout, keeping about two days. Yoghurt drinks sour further as they sit, which is normal up to a point, but a sharply sour smell means discard it.