Somagh
The kebab table's sour trio, pomegranate, sour cherry and sekanjebin, with aragh under a foam dusted with sumac.
Ingredients
| Ingredient | ml | oz |
|---|---|---|
| Aragh sagi (Iranian raisin spirit) | 45 ml | 1½ oz |
| Fresh pomegranate juice · homemade, J07 | 30 ml | 1 oz |
| Tart cherry syrup · homemade, P07 | 10 ml | ⅓ oz |
| Mint sekanjebin · homemade, P06 | 10 ml | ⅓ oz |
| Fresh lime juice · homemade, J01 | 15 ml | ½ oz |
| Aquafaba · homemade, P18 | 15 ml | ½ oz |
Ounces are rounded; measure in ml for accuracy. Homemade items link to their own page.
chilled coupe
dry shake, then shaken with ice, served up
a pinch of ground sumac dusted across the foam
The story
Sumac is the red powder in the shaker on every kebab table in Iran: the dried, ground berry of a shrub that grows wild on the Zagros hillsides, sharpest around Kermanshah and Kurdistan. It is sour the way lemon is sour, but dusty and dark, and it is what you shake over koobideh. This drink gathers the Iranian sours into one coupe: pomegranate juice, tart cherry syrup and mint sekanjebin, lime for the edge, aragh for the backbone, and a cloud of foam for the sumac to sit on. The sumac names the drink.
Method
- Chill a coupe.
- Dry shake the aragh, pomegranate juice, tart cherry syrup, sekanjebin, lime juice and aquafaba without ice for 10 seconds.
- Add ice and shake hard for 12 seconds.
- Double-strain into the coupe, let the foam settle and dust a pinch of sumac across it.
How it tastes
Sour three ways, pomegranate skin, cherry and the vinegar-mint of sekanjebin, then the raisin spirit through a soft foam, and sumac’s dusty tang on the nose. Deep rose under a pink cap.
Persian taste: torsh-shirin (sweet-sour)
Pair it with
- Food: Koobideh with sumac and grilled tomato; or kashk-e bademjan.
- Sweet: Nan berenji, the rice cookies of Kermanshah.
- Snack: Salted pistachios
Variations
Tamarind foam
Add 10 ml tamarind syrup to the shaker: the Persian Gulf version.
Rum
White rum in place of aragh.
Egg white
15 ml egg white instead of aquafaba for a denser foam.
Balancing tips
- Fresh pomegranate juice only; bottled is flat.
- Dust the sumac at the last second so it does not sink.
- If the drink is too sweet, drop the sekanjebin to 5 ml; it varies by batch.
Allergens
- No common allergens.
- Contains alcohol. Please drink responsibly.
Development notes
- Status: original recipe draft v0.1, not yet taste-tested.
- Test sekanjebin at 5 and 10 ml.
- Try a sumac half rim instead of the dusting.
Watch it mixed
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Kermanshah, imagined
