Roselle Syrup Drink

PureGlutton and I were at Bayan Indah. We both tasted a delish roselle drink that day. Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa) is a species of Hibiscus which is Malaysia's national flower! PureGlutton enquired Rohani Jelani about it and was told the roselle flowers were harvested in the garden and turned into the drink. We asked if we can have some and was glad that we could harvest from her trees. PureGlutton even got some dried seeds since Rohani had mentioned it's very easy to grow and matured within 6 months!  I went to the patch with a pair of scissors and snipped down 2 bagsful of those huge bulbs of roselle flowers.



The next day, I quartered the flowers and wash the inner part. Dumped them all into a saucepan and fill them up with water. I added brown rock sugar but try not to do that cos it gives a heavy cane sugar taste to the roselle. I think white rock sugar or normal sugar would be better. I've added in too much water hence it's not a thick and syrupy but it was ok, just don't need to add so much water.



I strained the pulp and place them in a clean dry jar. Those are still in the fridge. I guess can use them in cheesecakes or cakes. I stored the syrup in the fridge and just add water to it to make a refreshing roselle syrup drink.



I've also tried adding alcohol to the syrup :p I've done with Malibu but since it's sweet, I added more sweetness and the Malibu rum kinda overpowered the roselle taste. Then I tried with some Absolut Citron and surprisingly it turned out fabulous. The citrus in vodka cuts down the sweetness!

I'm submitting this for Muhibbah Malaysian Monday blog event. This event is the brainchild of  Shaz (Test With A Skewer) and Suresh (3 Hungry Tummies). Read more here.