or Tamarind Soda, in the manner of Jarritos’s Tamarindo. All that is required is tamarind syrup, topped up with soda water, tonic water or ginger ale. The plain tamarind syrup is nice, but I love the tamarind-ginger version as the flavours are very gingerale’sque. You’ll need ice, a stirrer and an umbrella. Just because. You’ll pour the...
Category: Drinks
The Makings of Tamarind Syrup
I opted for cold-brewing dried tamarind. I rinsed the pods in water and put them in a jar. Then I topped up with sugar and water and refrigerated overnight. I gave it a few shakes in the course of its rest, to encourage the sugar dissolve and extract some of the earthy flavour of the...
Agbalu’lade, The New Lemonade
My picky second daughter, R insists this should be the name, and so it is. Agbalu’lade. I had Agbalumo’ade pencilled but…*shrugs*. As this is her new favourite drink, I have no complaints. Believe me, this is like Lemonade but not exactly. If you macerate Agbalumo – add sugar and leave to stand for a few hours, you’ll...
Friday Cocktails: Making ‘Nigerian’ Simple Syrups
Simple syrups – fundamental sweetness to cocktails and mocktails. And easy to make. What is a simple syrup? The foundation for everything from lemonade to iced tea, your standard simple syrup is a combination of 1 part sugar to 1 part water. For example – 1 cup sugar to 1 cup water, cooked till the...
Friday Cocktails: Scent Leaf & Sugarcane Mojito
..because it’s cocktail hour in Alice Springs, Australia. —–00000—– My first Mojito was drunk in a dimly lit room with walls I imagine red and a carpet thick. I think. To be honest, I have no idea what the colours were. I only imagine that being an Indian restaurant, thick with the scents of tempered spices...
Sugarcane: Juiced versus Blended
And juiced wins hands down. I’m still here, Take 3 of 3 of the trial and error. Though my last experience with juicing sugarcane presented mixed results, I went ahead and tried again. I did two things differently. First – when the cloud of juice of sugarcane in my glass had settled, froth and flotsam...
Friday Cocktails: Agbalumo Wine with Scent Leaf Syrup
Its Friday…and the weekend’s here after all. Raise your glass with a wine mixer :). Cheers. This started off so well. I took a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc off the rack. A fine bottle of Chilean wine. And I stuffed the seeds and skin of my dearest Agbalumo into the bottle. Miraculously, the cork slid right...
Juicing, with Sugarcane
Genius, I thought as soon as my eyes fell upon the juicer. Still in its box after 6 months, the time was now. If you know me, you’ll know I’m crazy about sugarcane, even when it involves physical labour. So the idea of juicing it was sooooooooo welcome. Well, it took me a few minutes to get...
Nigerian Agbalumo Drink
With the remains from the vinegar episode, I decided to make an ‘infusion’. This drink is a classic case of using up leftovers and doing something I’ve wanted to do for ages – make a drink of Agbalumo. The seeds and skin were tossed into pot. I tried to think of what spices would go well...