Amardeen Margarita with pistachios
May 5, 2010 • Category: Beverages
It is 94F today in Dallas; who wants to eat? not me!
Give me a margarita, with chips and salsa! (It is Cinco de Mayo today, after all!)
Do you know how many Lebanese folks immigrated to Mexico? A LOT! In fact the man who beat Bill Gates in terms of billions to his name, Carlos Helu Slim is from Lebanese immigrant parents, whose late wife was Lebanese and is dating a Lebanese woman, Lisa Halabi, King Hussein of Jordan’s widow. How about that for gossip!
I made these margaritas to show my neighbor, Mary, the self-proclaimed margarita queen (she is Irish), that it can be made with something other than the mix that is sold at the liquor store.
This one is made with a product that comes from Lebanon, Amardeen nectar. Amardeen is an apricot paste, beloved by Lebanese kids and adults alike. The amardeen nectar is used to make an apricot drink very popular during Ramadan. The actual apricots are harvested in Syria, near Damascus, and are exceptionally tasty.
The pistachios on the rim of the glass are to show Mary that you can use something other than salt, which everybody knows is not good for you, anyway!
Sahtak! Salud! Cheers!
To make the margaritas:
3 portions Tequila
1 portion orange liquor (Triple Sec, Grand Marnier or whatever)
6 portions Amardeen syrup (mixed with water) Substitute apricot nectar
1 portion fresh lemon or lime juice
- Place all the ingredients in a blender with some ice cubes (if you like it frozen); puree the mixture till slushy.
- Brush some lemon juice on the rim of the glasses, both inside and outside; dip in chopped pistachios. Serve with chips.
NOTE: 2 Tablespoons of the Amardeen syrup diluted in one cup of water; add more syrup depending on taste.
Comments
52 Comments • Comments Feed
Sarah Galvin (All Our Fingers in the Pie) says:
I learn so much from your blog! This looks fantastic. And pistachios, what a creative idea. I can hardly wait until it is 94F here, too!
On May 5, 2010 at 7:01 pm
Stella says:
Nice Joumana! These sound delicious and creative-something I want to drink. We haven’t been as hungry either since the heat has started to set in-strange b/c I’m usually more like Miss Piggy.
Oh, and isn’t Selma Hayek half Lebanese and half Mexican. I think her father immigrated to Mexico, no?
On May 5, 2010 at 7:54 pm
Joumana says:
Yes, Selma Hayek is from Lebanese parents; her name is typical Lebanese; guess who else is Lebanese/Colombian? Shakira. She visited her parents home village in Lebanon a few years ago.
Also, Gloria Estefan’s husband Emilio is from Lebanese parents and they went back and visited Lebanon 3 years ago and loved it.
On May 5, 2010 at 8:15 pm
Evel@CheapEthnicEatz says:
LOVE original cocktails and LOVE the pistachios on the rim. Cheers!
On May 5, 2010 at 7:55 pm
momgateway says:
..with margaritas this good…who’d want to eat when it’s burning outdoors?
On May 5, 2010 at 8:08 pm
Lori says:
A neat twist on Margaritas. I like it. I always wish to sample everything on your blog.
On May 5, 2010 at 8:17 pm
sweetlife says:
love the drink, also the pistachios..oh just great texture
sweetlife
On May 5, 2010 at 8:40 pm
citronetvanille says:
OH la la, ca m’a l’air trop bon ca, en plus avec du nectar d’abricot (pas sûre de trouver l’amardeen)! rien a voir avec les mélanges tous prêts qu’on trouve au supermarché! Je ne bois pas beaucoup d’alcool, mais alors ta petite concoction je vais l’essayer un de ces soirs!
On May 5, 2010 at 8:49 pm
Olive says:
too bad I can’t drink, that looks really good, I love the pistachios on the rim! 🙂
On May 5, 2010 at 9:07 pm
5 Star Foodie says:
A delightful margarita! So pretty with pistachios along the rim!
On May 5, 2010 at 9:11 pm
SYLVIA says:
Drinking healthy doesn’t mean to say goodbye to a little alcohol . This is an exotic sparky and fresh drink.Everyone has their own way of giving their own method of preparing margarita, some with mango, others with strawberry, and now with apricot natures gorgeous color, we had fish taco’s today at work cause it was cinco de mayo If we only had this drink to wash it down with.
On May 5, 2010 at 9:18 pm
Donna says:
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On May 5, 2010 at 9:28 pm
Soma says:
I am going to show this margarita to my hubby then I will have him make this for me.
Not wanting to eat, having something chilled is exactly what we were talking about today..loads of watermelon and fruits….
On May 5, 2010 at 9:36 pm
Marie says:
Oh I want to make this, I have the apricot paste!
On May 5, 2010 at 9:50 pm
Sushma Mallya says:
Lovely way to present this one, looks fantastic
On May 5, 2010 at 10:57 pm
Rosa says:
A great drink!
Cheers,
Rosa
On May 5, 2010 at 11:43 pm
touria says:
hi joumana
love this drink hmmmmmm
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On May 6, 2010 at 12:17 am
Priya says:
Thats an excellent margarita, looks sooo prefect!
On May 6, 2010 at 12:54 am
physician assistant says:
Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed browsing your blog posts. In any case I’ll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you write again soon!
On May 6, 2010 at 1:26 am
oum mouncifrayan says:
coucou, me voici de retour sur les blogs,
je te remercie de tes visites,
bisous
On May 6, 2010 at 3:14 am
Joanne says:
I’ve never heard of Amardeen before but it sounds delicious. I love your gossip! Way better than the NY Post or US Weekly 😛
On May 6, 2010 at 4:55 am
Brian Reyes says:
Wow Joumana, that looks tempting! And it’s only one in the afternoon…
Greetings from Gib,
Brian
On May 6, 2010 at 4:59 am
Ivy says:
I am not much of a drinker, so I’ve never drank a margarita before but it does look refreshing and tempting to try.
On May 6, 2010 at 5:20 am
Pierre says:
(Jaw dropped)… WOW!!!!(bookmark)
I don’t know where to start… I am speechless.
Joumana, your whole blog is a precious gem. I love it! Word of warning, I will be trying out a lot of your recipes here. Simplicity at its best.
And Thank you for visiting my blog too.
Sweet Greetings..
On May 6, 2010 at 5:33 am
fimère says:
alors là tu m’épates avec cette margarita!!! originale et riche en saveurs
bravo et bonne journée
On May 6, 2010 at 6:49 am
12th Man says:
very cool twist.
margarita mix should be outlawed. too many simpler and better tasting versions out there.
3 oz fresh lime juice, 3 oz triple sec, and 4 oz premium tequila make a perfect margarita for two. no bottles full of preservatives, HFCS, and food coloring. simple.
On May 6, 2010 at 6:51 am
T.W. Barritt says:
Wow! I’ll bet it was a great party!
On May 6, 2010 at 7:41 am
A Canadian Foodie says:
YUM! And would you believe Spring had Sprung – it was all green and warm with whispers of breeze and promises of lazy days – when a storm rushed in and we are all covered with snow up here! Itis RARE – but it happens. Last time was in 1979. So, my mood for a cool drink is not happening right now. What pistachios do you use? Do you find a difference in them? Where do they grow in Lebanon, and how? I bought some Sicilian ones, and they were really beautiful and the depth of flavour was marginally better than whatever else I usually buy. origin not specified.
🙂
Valerie
On May 6, 2010 at 8:43 am
Joumana says:
Valerie
Sorry you have to deal with snow! Wow! We are in t-shirts here.
RE Pistachios, yes, some are grown in Lebanon but I think for the most part they are imported from Iran. I will find out more when I go there this summer. I always go to the best roaster in town Hamasni and get my pistachios there. Otherwise I buy them at the palestinian grocer here and they are already shelled and fine for baking.
On May 6, 2010 at 2:51 pm
anncoo says:
WOW! This looks so classic. Hope I can try this.
On May 6, 2010 at 9:13 am
12th Man says:
Do you mind if I link to this for my “May Must Try” list?
Thanks!
On May 6, 2010 at 10:05 am
Rachana Kothari says:
What a creative twist to the margarita and loved the pistachios on the rim.
On May 6, 2010 at 10:24 am
joudie kalla says:
Hi Joumana, this looks so good! I love amardeen. What a clever idea. Very creative and looks so tempting!!!
On May 6, 2010 at 11:00 am
Erica says:
What a fantastic drink! Love the pistachos 🙂
On May 6, 2010 at 11:56 am
Sridevi says:
Loved the presentation and the drink.
On May 6, 2010 at 12:26 pm
wis3384 says:
Dear Joumana
We love your blog and we ask if you can add http://www.downtownbeirut.com (downtown beirut) to your blog roll too
Thank you !!!
On May 6, 2010 at 1:10 pm
Océane says:
je veux en boire ça doit être absolument bon
On May 6, 2010 at 1:24 pm
Sandi says:
that looks delicious!!! I love margaritas
On May 6, 2010 at 1:50 pm
nisha says:
louve margaritas in any form 🙂
On May 6, 2010 at 4:23 pm
Bria @ WestofPersia says:
What a brilliant concoction you’ve created here. Love amardeen. That stuff is soooo good. The best apricots I’ve ever eaten, I ate in Syria. And yes, you’re right, a lot of pistachios are indeed imported from Iran.
On May 6, 2010 at 7:16 pm
Lentil Breakdown says:
Wow, Never heard of Amardeen, and what a wonderful concoction with the pistachios! They grow in Turkey and here in California as well.
Am a fan of Queen Noor. An update on her love life is always good to know. : )
I grew up in Dallas and still have family there, and I do not envy you with the heat!
On May 6, 2010 at 9:25 pm
shayma says:
no way, Lisa Halabi is dating him? ok, coming back to the topic at hand, i LOVE this post- i want to get my hands on some amardeen now from a Lebanese or Syrian grocery store. Joumana, all your posts are yummy, including the one with the sour plums above- i love sour fruits, we were forbidden from eating them as a child- lest we should get a sore throat- i dont know if that is a myth or the truth. love love love this cocktail. x shayma
On May 7, 2010 at 1:42 pm
TastyTrix says:
What a cool idea. You obviously had me at “drink.”
On May 7, 2010 at 4:01 pm
Me, Myself & Pie says:
MMM….margaritas are so yummy and this one looks amazing. I love the color, the flavors and most of all…the pistachios. How creative!
On May 7, 2010 at 6:51 pm
OysterCulture says:
Oh my goodness this sounds so refreshing – I must find this amardeen. I cannot wait to try and astonish friends and family
On May 7, 2010 at 9:11 pm
TomPier says:
great post as usual!
On May 8, 2010 at 2:25 pm
I Sicilian says:
I love your blog! Simple and clean and the recipes are basically the type of food that I love to eat, not complicated, simple ingredients and healthy. I’m glad I found you. I think we have a lot in common, hope we can become blog friends!
On May 8, 2010 at 7:09 pm
Julie says:
Il est super original ton cocktail, c’est tout à fait ce que j’aime (petite, mon jus de fruit préféré était le jus d’abricot, je prenais tout le temps ça aussi). Faudra que je tente, ça m’a l’air délicieux!!
Gros bisous!
On May 9, 2010 at 5:18 am
Bookcase Plans says:
I come back here quite often and always find more fascinating and informative things to read . Thank you for putting so much effort into your work.
On October 16, 2010 at 8:24 am