Karakandji de Centrafrique (Central African Republic Hibiscus Flower Drink)
Karakandji de Centrafrique (Central African Republic Hibiscus Flower Drink) is a traditional Central African Republic recipe for a classic drink made from an infusion of red hibiscus flowers in water flavoured with ginger and sweetened with caster sugar. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Central African Republic version of: Central African Republic Hibiscus Flower Drink (Karakandji de Centrafrique).
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This is the Central African Republic of that classic hibiscus flower drink known in Senegal as bissap, though this version adds ginger as a flavouring.
Ingredients:
100g dried red hibiscus (sorrel) flowers
thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger
caster sugar, to taste
Method:
Fill a large bowl with water. Dip the hibiscus flowers in this. Mix for a few seconds with your fingers then drain. Repeat this washing process three times.
Scrape the ginger then slice into very thin strips. Combine the washed hibiscus flowers and ginger in a heavy-based saucepan. Pour over enough water to cover the ingredients, bring to a boil and cook for 15 minutes.
Take the pan off the heat, cover and set aside to cool. When the decoction is cold, pass through a fine-meshed sieve to extract the liquid.
Add sugar to taste, pour into a bottle and chilli in the refrigerator.
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