Dried Hibiscus / Karkadai

When we visited the Khan with Fabs and Sam, Sam bought a load of dried hibiscus. Here, dried Hibiscus is added either to hot water, or infused over 24 hours in cold water, to make a refreshing drink called Karkadai. Sam showed us though that you can also chew the dried flowers and apparently it makes a mean chutney.

When we were in Alexandria we decided to buy some for ourselves, and managed to get 250g for 8LE (we gave the man 10LE and told him to keep the change - how generous!).

Last night I added a good few handfuls of dried Hibiscus to about a litre of water. It started to infuse straight away, but you are meant to leave it for 24 hours (and not more than 48 hours). This morning I tried some and it is yummy (providing you add a hefty amount of sugar).

Even with the sugar, it is quite a tart flavour, so I think it will go well with Gin. I'm going to make some next week and see if Hibiscus Gin will be the Egyptian equivalent of Sloe Gin.