Tropical Tonic Drink Recipe

Picture this: You have just had a busy time on your market day. Sure shopping is therapeutic, but don't forget that you have to first list out the items, go to the market, select and hand pick the items, pay for them, lug your things around, get into the car, lug them to the house (oh yes, this is the toughest bit now that we don't live in a landed property anymore. And once home, you gotta segregate, wash and dry, arrange, and in some cases, portion the meat and store properly. Even typing the routine out is already tiring. 

In the midst of market day chaos, it is so soothing to know that something is cooking, literally, that can help to not just uplift your mood and energy, but also spread the aroma of goodness all over the house. As soon as I got back from the market, I took out the ingredients for this delicious and potent tonic, and got it boiling, so that once I am done, I can just dive into it.

A friend of mine who is an advocate of everything natural, shared this recipe for the tonic, made from raw turmeric, ginger, pandan (screwpine, no, I am not swearing) leaves and lemongrass. All you gotta do is pound or bruise the turmeric, ginger and lemongrass roots. Knot the pandan leaves. Put into a stock pot full of water (well depending on how much you want), and boil away. Add brown sugar as per your taste. 

I boiled for almost 1.5 hours. I got my right amount of sweetness. And drank away. The aroma of the fragrant pandan leaves will get into every nook and corner of your home. Not to mention it pleasantly flavours your drink. The mixture of ginger and lemongrass gives a minty effect to the after taste, which feels so cooling on its own. I personally prefer to drink this chilled. 

It is awesome to have such uplifting drinks at home especially with the hot weather, and I usually like to chug down cups of iced water. This, in its chilled version, works awesome!

Try it, the ingredients are using our local products, and perhaps easily available in your fridge! How does it get simpler than this. Happy trying!