Roselle Punch (Zobo Drink)
If there is any indigenous drink that belongs on our tables at Christmas, it would be Zobo! What, with all that roselle, fruit and spices going on, it sure would smell like Christmas once you start prepping the ingredients and cooking them!
Besides making the drink, i enjoyed shopping for the ingredients ‘cos mum offered to take me to her customer at Agege market where she gets Zobo and a wide array of other ingredients and spices from these helpful Hausa men. Needless to say, i worked out of there with not just what i needed for Zobo but also Peppersoup and Suya Spice ingredients as well! Come on, I need me some Fish Peppersoup and Chicken Suya this season! What say you? 🙂
If there is any indigenous drink that belongs on our tables at Christmas, it would be Zobo! What, with all that roselle, fruit and spices going on, it sure would smell like Christmas once you start prepping the ingredients and cooking them!
Although Zobo is a refreshing everyday drink, the ingredients just smell and taste like Christmas and i “thinks” that you should try making it at home this season!
Zobo is made from the dried fleshy calyces of the Roselle Plant and the health benefits and nutritional value is an added bonus to the refreshing cranberry juice like flavor of Zobo.
My very first Zobo drink was made by my mum who was taught by my lovely Aunty Edith of blessed memory who had spent a number of years living in the North with my Uncle and cousins. Then at some point, it seemed to me like my dear eldest sister was addicted and appeared to be making it every weekend she was home from the University of Lagos as a result of vacations spent with my dear cousins in Kaduna! Me? …I was all up for a chilled Zobo drink anytime!
Besides making the drink, i enjoyed shopping for the ingredients ‘cos mum offered to take me to her customer at Agege market where she gets Zobo and a wide array of other ingredients and spices from these helpful Hausa men. Needless to say, i worked out of there with not just what i needed for Zobo but also Peppersoup and Suya Spice ingredients as well! Come on, I need me some Fish Peppersoup and Chicken Suya this season! What say you? 🙂
…And these pretty cups? I spotted them at a stall around the Zobo “place” at Agege market at 250 naira for 25 that’s 10 naira each? What a bargain! Its amazing the lovely things you can find in the most unlikely places!
Making Roselle Punch a.k.a. Zobo Drink 🙂 is easy cos it doesn’t require too many steps. All the ingredients go into the pot at the same time except the sugar or your preferred sweetener which then goes in last at the end of the cooking time.
You basically give the dried roselle calyces a quick rinse and place in a large pot or sauce pan with sliced unpeeled ginger, throw in some cloves, pineapple skin, juice and rind of 4 oranges, cinnamon stick and water. Let this cook over medium heat for about 45 minutes and then strain carefully, return to the burner and then add sugar to the hot liquid, stirring over medium heat until all the sugar is dissolved. Take it off the heat and then allow it to cool completely before transferring into bottles or a pitcher to chill. Alternatively, once the liquid cools, serve on the rocks (over ice).
Here goes the print ready recipe. Enjoy!
Roselle Punch (Zobo Drink)
Recipe type: Drinks
Cuisine: Nigerian
Serves: 3.75 Liters
Ingredients
- 150 grams Dried Roselle Calyces (Zobo)
- 1 large Ginger (50 grams, washed and sliced unpeeled)
- 10 grams Cloves
- Skin from 1 Pineapple
- Juice and Rind from 4 Medium Oranges
- 1 Large Cinnamon Stick
- 4 liters of Water
- 400 grams Sugar
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients except the sugar in a large pot or saucepan, cover and cook over medium heat for 45 minutes. Strain.
- Return the strained liquid to the heat and stir in sugar. Continue stirring until all the sugar is dissolve. Take of the heat and allow to cool completely before transferring into bottles or a pitcher to cool or serve over ice.
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