Chamus (apricot juice)

(This recipe was first published in Dawn.com.)

I recently wrote a review for Dawn.com on a really great dhaba here in Islamabad, called Maantu Gul Kitchen. I had heard about it from a few friends and thought it might be interesting to write about. Then I actually went, and after sampling their amazing parathas, I have become a huge fan.

During the course of writing up the review I met and spoke with the owner and head chef, Aslam Pervez, multiple times. Aslam has included quite a few items from Hunza (where he is from) on the Maantu Gul Kitchen menu, and he was kind enough to share one of those recipes with me.

Chamus is a drink made with dried apricots and, although they're in season right now, this is the perfect way to enjoy apricot juice all year round!

Click here to read the full article.

Chamus (Apricot Juice)

Ingredients

500g dried apricots
1 litre boiling water

1. In a large glass or ceramic bowl, add the apricots and pour the boiling water over them. Cover the bowl and leave the apricots to soak for 1 hour.
2. After an hour has passed, squash and mash the apricots with your hands to blend them into the water. (You may use a potato masher for this step but, according to Aslam, the juice is tastier when this is done by hand.) You should end up with a thick pulpy orange-coloured mixture.
3. Strain the apricot mixture. Store the strained liquid in the refrigerator until the juice is thoroughly chilled.

The juice is quite thick, so you can thin it out a bit by adding water, if you prefer.