My main activity when I was young was brewing magic potions, which off course consisted of all natural ingredients, like dirt from the garden, flowers from the neighbors garden, spiders and rainworms (preferably still living.) Although I put my heart and soul into every potion, they never really seemed to do much magic.. (a disappointment I am actually still recovering from.)
Although my invitation to Hogwarts seems to have been misplaced by the mailman, my passion for potions continued all through highschool. It's a shame my friends are still laughing about the time I bought a kombucha fungus online and started my own superhealthy fungusdrink-factory...
One day, when I got older and wiser and began exploring other parts of the world, I ran into some fellow potionbrewers when I traveled through western Java (Indonesia.) The Sundanese people, who live in the higher land of West Java, are known to brew a traditional drink called Bandrek.
It's hot and spicy and does not only warm your whole body, but it also cures a sore throat and should even work as an aphrodisiac. That sounds like a magic potion to me! I had to try it, not only because of its qualities, but also because the main ingredients were some of my alltime favourite spices like ginger and cinnamon!
Bandrek totally lived up to my expectations, as liquid fire it burned through my body and warmed me up with its delicious spices, just as promised.
Today, a few years later I still remember the taste of Bandrek and decided to recreate it. After all I àm a trained potion brewer!
After some research and a hunt for ingrediënts I am proud to say I made a perfect Bandrek! And because winter is coming and I don't want you to get cold, I will share my recipe with you. So here it comes:
Ingredients (for 1 liter of Bandrek)
- 1 liter water
- 6 cinnamon sticks
- 10 star anise
- 20 whole cloves
- 10 all spice berries
- 14 cardamom pods
- 2 stalks lemongrass, trimmed and pounded to release the fragrance
- 12 cm Ginger, chopped into pieces to release the juices
- 1 small red chili
- 4 tablespoons of palm sugar
- 6 pandan leaves (pounded to release the fragrance)
- 6 lemon leaves
- half can of unsweetened coconutmilk
Most of the ingredients were pretty easy to find at the local market. Finding the pandan leaves was the biggest challenge, but I found them at a Thai store. I promise you 'vanilla of the East,' as pandan leaves are often called, are certainly worth the search, as the flavour doesn't compare to any other spice.
The preparation of the drink is easy. Just mix all the ingredients, except the palm sugar and coconutmilk, in a cooking pan and let it cook for about 20 minutes, untill you smell all of the spices releasing their delicious flavours.
After 20 minutes, add the palm sugar and coconutmilk, stir it through and cook for another 5 minutes.
Done! It's that easy! just put it through a sieve and serve it hot.
Because as a true potionmaster a like a little dramatic effect, I chose to serve my Bandrek in a skullshaped glass.
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