Bissap Ker Diallo

Amount: About 3 liters
Calories Per Serving: A lot (so be careful)

Ingredients:

• 1Kg of Red Bissap leaves

• 1Kg of White granulated sugar

• 4 packs of Vanilla sugar

• Half of bottle of orange flower liquid

• 4 nana (mint) sprouts

Senbi Diallo

Directions: 

1. Put the Red Bissap leaves into a large pot. Fill the pot up with water just above the leaves. It should be about three liters of water. Put the pot onto the stove with medium to high heat (more towards the medium). This should take about 30 minutes to boil. 

2. Once the water is boiling, turn the heat off. Throw the mint leaf sprouts into the pot and let the Red Bissap leaves simmer, and the water soaks up the flavor from the leaves. For best results, put a lid on the pot to keep all of the goodness in.

3. Once the pot is at room temperature, filter the leaves out. You should be left with Wine red Bissap Juice. Some may like the bitterness of the drink right now, but I have never met a Senegalese family that does not put sugar in their drinks :)

4. Mix the white granulated sugar, Vanilla sugar, and orange flower liquid. If you do not like sweet drinks, cut back on the white granulated sugar. Mix it well and have a taste.  

5. Once it is to your taste, put it in the fridge to cool it off, and if you can't wait to, pop some ice cubes into a glass and pour the juice over:)

Note from Shea:

I love it when the Bissap is placed into the freezer and taken out when it is half frozen. Then I like to shake it up and pour it into a glass. Voilá! A homemade Bissap Slushy. OR I loved making a concoction with Bissap. For me it's the best base drink to mix the other traditional drinks in. I loved half Bissap, half Buuy, half Bissap, half ginger drink, and half Bissap and half sprite.