The garden is a riot of colours in the summer months. It’s almost as if nature is giving us something to feast our eyes on to help combat the exhaustion that seeps in due to the scorching heat emanating from the earth.
The garden is a riot of colours in the summer months. It’s almost as if nature is giving us something to feast our eyes on to help combat the exhaustion that seeps in due to the scorching heat emanating from the earth.
Much later I made the connection that along with the many seasonal foods, flowers too offer several therapeutic properties in edible form. The Sorrel flower for example is nothing else but our very own hibiscus blossom. It’s petals are used to make tea as well as a cooling beverage. The plant if untrimmed grows rather wild with it’s branches poking out in every direction possible. It may look quite unruly but at the same time lends an exotic, tropical feel to the environment.
With all the edible flowers that were turning up on Michelin star dishes around the world,we looked around and realised that we in Coimbatore had our own share of blossoms to add to our list of drinks and eats.
The hibiscus is a flower that I have always had a great affinity towards. Everything about it is so pretty. The colours, the shape of the petals, the yellow stamen that sprouts from the centre ending in a bright red velvety tipped flower; I still stare at it in fascinated wonder !
We were gifted a plant bearing beautiful pink hibiscus flowers along with a recipe for both a cocktail and a mocktail. This was many years ago but summer is when this drink tastes best because it needs to be chilled. Another reason that I prefer the summer months is because, most importantly, the plants have more flowers to spare, so we don’t feel as guilty when going about the plucking. Flowers do tend to look prettiest on the plants after all !
Anyway,the drink is quite simple to make as is the case with most seasonal recipes. The best part about a recipe like this is that it can be modified to suit individual palates. It can also be made with dried hibiscus petals but since we have an abundance of fresh blooms available everywhere,why not take advantage of it !?
For this recipe it's best to pick the flowers just before sunrise. They are at their freshest and most aromatic state. The only bit of work involved is to gently remove the stamen without the yellow staining the petals. Initially this was quite hard to do; to pull away parts off a perfect blossom but there was no other choice if one wanted to make the drink!
The drink is said to have specific health benefits which include lowering of blood pressure, increase in metabolism and help boost the immune system. There are also added health advantages that aid better working of the digestive organs.
Again, I would urge not just adults but parents to introduce their children to these kind of drinks which not only taste and look good but also go a long way in sustaining the right growth pattern which is vital in the growing up years. Aerated drinks on the other hand are pure poison to physical as well as mental wellness and health must not be taken for granted !
Make a tall jug of this delicious drink and store it in your refrigerator. It’s not a difficult task and we really should make that extra effort to do things for ourselves. We all deserve some of that self pampering, don't we?!
Hibiscus flower drink
Ingredients
Hibiscus flowers-15
Cinnamon-1 small stick
Ginger- ¼ inch piece crushed
Orange peel- 1 Tbsp
Panam kalkandu or Honey- to taste
Water- 8 Cups
Method
*Remove the stamens carefully and discard
*Wash the petals gently by spraying water.
*After washing, add it to the 8 Cups of water in a pan.
*Add the cinnamon, ginger and orange peel.
*Cover and bring it to a boil
*Simmer for a few minutes until the colour from the petals leaches out into the water.
*Turn off and let cool.
*Add the honey or palm sugar and mix well.
*Refrigerate for a couple of hours.
*The cocktail version includes a dash of rum.
*Other options include adding cloves, cardamom,vanilla bean, or saffron for flavouring. Go ahead and give it your own twist.That’s what makes it fun. A great summer time activity for kids too !