A sip of Hibiscus

~ Give me Red ~

(A sip of Hibiscus !!) 

The local vegetable market filled with an array of colorful fresh 

vegetables and dew drenched fruits has its own magical charm. 

Vibrant greens, shiny yellow, lustrous reds, velvety purples, rich 

chrome..... nature's color palette seems to be unending. 

Lost in the colorful world of vegetables at the veggie market

 yesterday , my eyes came across a tiny basket of of beautiful red 

flowers - truly much more captivating than the aromatic ones that 

beautifully adorn a florist's shop. During the short span while I 

selected the unblemished ones n  paid, I tried to grasp the farmer's 

knowledge about these enchanting blooms . Called kundri or 

sun kukray in the local dialect , he told me these are perfect for 

making tangy chutneys ( dips).

All I knew was its local name and my tongue's verdict on its sour petals 

but that was not enough to search some fruitful result on Google. 

The calyx has some hibiscus like sticky stuff n I just typed in 

wild hibiscus - lo behold it opened up to a new world - so many 

pics, recipes , uses , cocktails, salads, syrups ah the list was endless.

With just a few flowers in hand I decided to play with this Wild hibiscus, 

Jamaican Sorrel or roselle. If it works with dried petals , it should

 work with fresh too and I headed to the kitchen.

Hibiscus tea with its sour taste is great to serve hot or cold . 

Just a pot of water , some sugar and a  star anise is all 
thats needed to brew up this concoction.

Remove the red petals from the flower n simmer in a pot of 

water with some sugar and star anise for 12- 15 mins .
Strain and  enjoy. 

 Cool  breeze and a cup of warm tea with a loved one is perfect morning 

retreat . 

Hibiscus Tea 

Ingredients 

1 cup fresh wild Hibiscus petals , 4 cups water, 4 tsp sugar ( adjust

 as per liking) , 1 star anise ( opt) , lemon slices for garnishing .

Method

Place water in a large saucepan , add in petals , sugar and star anise. 

simmer for 12- 13 mins till the water turns red. Strain , garnish 

with a slice of lime n serve. 

Iced Hibiscus tea 

We relished some of the hot tea while refrigerated rest to relish as a

 cool beverage. Some chilled hibiscus tea and  lots of ice is all thats needed 
to transform a hot tea to cool and refreshing Agua de Flor de Jamaica . 
 My family went gaga over this ruby red delight . 

The leaves of the Jamaican sorrel plant are also tart n

are widely used as a souring agent for preparing pickles n curries . I 

wish i could get some of those too :) :) 

Agua de Jamaica

Ingredients 

1 cup fresh wild Hibiscus petals , 4 cups water, 6 tsp sugar ( adjust

 as per liking) , 1 star anise ( opt) , lemon slices for garnishing .

Method

Place water in a large saucepan , add in petals , sugar n star anise. 

simmer for 12- 13 mins till the water turns red. Strain , chill and 

serve with ice or tonic / soda water.