Photo provided by The Peninsula reader M Haroun
Doha, Qatar: In Sudan, the approaching of the Holy Month of Ramadan is identified by a certain scent that wafts throughout the entire neighborhood.
The smell serves as a notice to everyone in Ramadan that the holy month is fast approaching.
At the Expo 2023 Doha, Commissioner of the Republic of Sudan pavilion Awatif Abdullah tells The Peninsula that the overwhelming scent of Abreh – also known as Hilu Mur, bittersweet in Arabic – in Sudanese neighborhoods would act as a reminder that the month of abstaining is upon the worshippers.
A view of the Sudanese pavilion. PIC: Khalid Elsawi / The Peninsula
“If someone drinks too much tea, too much coffee, eats too much, or perhaps even smokes, the smell of Abreh would alert them that they would have to reduce these things in preparation for the Ramadan fast.”
What is Abreh?
It is a specialty Sudanese beverage that takes days to make and is almost exclusively drank during the month of Ramadan.
Sarah Suleiman, a Sudanese Doha resident who had made some and was selling at the Sudanese pavilion bazaar, explained the grueling process it takes to make the beverage.
“Sorghum grains are first soaked in water for 8 hours, after which they are removed and planted in order for them to sprout in a process known as Zaree’ah,” she explained.
This process, according to Sarah, would then take the sorghum grains into a dark, damp room where they would be rested on top of a jute sack, and splashed with water daily for three to four days until “every grain has sprouted a little white tail.”
After this, the sorghum is then placed under the sun for it to dry and then comes the next step, in which the sorghum is ground into flour.
Several Sudanese ladies will congregate at one house, where they will aid in the grinding process. The making of Abreh would always be prefaced by coffee, small talk, lunch, tea, and even hairdressing, Awatif tells the Peninsula. It feels less like work and more like a get-together.
“Some women also bring their little girls over to help with the cooking, the cleaning, and to pass on the tradition to them as well,” she says.
The collective effort results in sorghum flour, which is then mixed with several spices including Galangal Root, ginger, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, Nigella seeds, dates, hibiscus (for color) fennel seeds, and other items.
Photo provided by The Peninsula reader M Haroun illustrating the Kojan process
The work isn’t over yet as the spiced sorghum flour is then placed in a big pot where water is added to it and is put on a low fire where the aforementioned ingredients all melt into gruel – in a process known as “kojan” – that is then put away for three days so that it slightly ferments.
The final step then comes when the gruel is poured atop a flat piece of iron known as the “Doka” in Sudan and is spread around the Doka using a thin, rectangular straw that is dipped in water to help scrape it off the Doka when it has solidified.
What is then produced is the equivalent of a reddish, brown crepe that is then taken off the fire and left to solidify.
During Ramadan, these crepe-like blocks are then soaked in water for no less than three hours, where the water absorbs all the flavors from the Abreh. Sugar is then added accordingly after the chunks of Abreh are filtered from the solution, and the juice is then refrigerated.
“The drink is made out of 100% natural material, with no chemicals, preservatives, food coloring, or anything added to it but the produce that is plucked from the ground. Not only is it delicious, but also boasts the benefit of all the herbs, grains, and spices that are added to it,” Awatif stated.
The drink also holds significance to the sustainable green practices celebrated at Expo 2023 Doha, as the filtered chunks do not go to waste, and can be later used either as fertilizer, goat feed, or even for cooling down clay water pots.
Mariam, a visitor at the Expo, said that women sometimes would use the filtered chunks for skin exfoliation.
People in Sudan believe that Abreh helps quench the thirst during Ramadan, and is a very popular suhoor item. Sudanese people would be woken up before Fajr prayer for suhoor to a glass of Abreh.
“If you are fasting under the Sudanese sun, you don’t want to be thirsty while doing so, and the Abreh helps quench that thirst. Sometimes even when Iftar time has come, it is advisable to drink Abreh before the other juices as it would help moisturize the throat so that you won’t feel thirsty while your stomach feels full.”
Abreh is a mainstay in Sudanese culture during the month of Ramadan, and it travels all over the world, to wherever a Sudanese person is, as a gift from home for the holy month.
