D is for Dinner - West African Ginger Juice

 

This Friday night, the Malian Association of the National Capital Region will celebrate Mali's 52nd Independence Day over at La Maison du Citoyen in Gatineau. The event is a Humanitarian Gala for Peace in Mali. Funds raised will go towards helping Malians who have been displaced by the political unrest in Northern Mali and the drought in the Sahel region.

 

It starts at 6 p.m. and features an evening full of Malian culture and cuisine. Tickets are $25 in advance or $30 at the door. To get your hands on one, you may call 613-286-0580 or 613-302-2118.

 

Djaba Kaba is one of the volunteers who'll be preparing and serving food. She dropped by the studio with a jug of fresh West African Ginger Juice for Alan. 

 

 

 

West African Ginger Juice:
Makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients:
About 200 grams of real ginger roots
½ liter of Pineapple juice
Sugar
Mint leaves
Lemon Juice or real lemons
Sugar vanilla (sucre vanille in French) or use vanilla extract

 

Preparation:

Cut off all the edges of the ginger roots and wash until they are clean. Chop them into medium size chunks to make them easier to blend. Then put them in the blender and add 1 cup of water to it.

Blend into a coarse pulp, and then pour into a medium sized bowl, then add enough water to completely cover the pulp and then mix it with hands to get all the juice from the pulp. And then pour into a filter to extract the juice into a large size bowl. Note that you have to squeeze the ginger to get all the juice out into the bowl. You can keep the remaining ginger pulp for other uses like tea or as a spice to your cooking. The juice will be concentrated and spicy so add 1 liter of water to the ginger juice.

With the juice now: 

Wash and add mint leaves

Add ½ cup of lemon juice or squeeze one lemon into the juice
Add ½ liter of pineapple juice
Add a tablespoon full of sugar vanilla or a teaspoon of vanilla extract
Add sugar to desired taste
Stir well for about 5 minutes to leave the mint flavour to the juice and stir before each serve
Serve over ice and add a lemon if you wish!
Note: These measurements are approximates and can be adjusted based on your desired taste. For example for less spice of the ginger, add more water, more sugar, pineapple juice and vice versa.

 

Hope you enjoy this refreshing drink!