Whoops. Yesterday, Marash Girl told you all about Tanabour (Tahnabour) and never mentioned a word about Than (tan, pronounced ton)! Tahnabour (in Armenian) means soup made from Tahn. What is Tahn, you ask? Only Marash Girl's favorite drink in the world! Bottled in the Middle East, tahn is tangy yogurt with water, or tangy yogurt with sparkling water as in soda pop and available at all the border crossings! Every time Marash Girl goes to a Middle Eastern restaurant here in New England, she asks for tahn, and if the waiter looks blankly in response, she'll say, "You know . . . I-rrahn (the Turkish word for Tahn, spelled in Turkish, Iran.) If s/he still doesn't understand, Marash Girl simply asks for a glass of iced water and some yogurt. Of course, this doesn't always work, because the yogurt may be too sweet (too fresh), and she'll probably need to add salt . . . And often she does. But made at home, especially on a hot summer's day, a pitcher full of cold Tahn (tart madzoon mixed with water, approximately a 1 to 3 ratio) poured over ice . . . So refreshing, so delicious! շատ համով է!
mother's tahn was so extraordinary that there was only a hint of sourness, actually bordering on sweetness, probably part of her soul embedded in her creation.
ReplyDeleteTRY MAKING TAHN with milk from cows that have been all grass fed and never had a bucket of grain fed to them to increase their production of milk. if the pastures on which the cows graze are organic, and rich, it is like drinking ice cream, and if you need the milk to be sour, then lit it stand in the fridge for a day or two. Prosit!
yum!
ReplyDeleteWhile your mother was preparing tahn, did you, Martha and James recite "Tahn, tahn tootoo tahn"? Arppie, Kenar and I did, I don't remember Marash Boy joining in.
ReplyDeleteIt seems once we heard Mama say it, possibly a few and at various times when she was making tahn, we just picked it up.
When Kenar is here we could start talking about tahn and how its your favorite drink. I would not be surprised if Kenar suddenly would say, "Tahn, Tahn tootoo Tahn" as I did when I read your blog.
Sooo cute!
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