Lychee Martini - Cocktail or Virgin, You pick!
The one word that comes to your mind when you see or hear about a Lychee is "EXOTIC" !! And the second word would probably be Hawaai or Mauii or something of that kind, right? Well, a lychee is a rare sub-tropical fruit originating in South China where the lychee is very important in their culture and is famed as "the King of Fruits". It not only tastes divine, but is high in Vitamin C (antioxidant)and Potassium (mineral) too. It sure is one of my favourite fruits, and here's a drink that is a favourite for a lot of people. This recipe for a Lychee Martini is an inspiration from a similar one that I read about in the Gourmet magazine, and I modified it a little to suit my style. Presenting to you, the Lychee Martini (Cocktail or Virgin, your choice!!) Ingredients
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 cup drained canned lychees (15 to 20, from a 16- to 20-oz can)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 small cherries
2 tsp cranberry or grenaldine (artificial pomegranate) juice
Sprig of mint, lemon rind for garnish
6 oz (3/4 cup) vodka (optional)
1 1/2 oz (3 tablespoons) orange-flavored liqueur (optional)
For the Virgin drink, omit the vodka and liquer.
Method
Heat sugar and water in a small saucepan over high heat, stirring, until sugar is dissolved, then allow it to cool by transferring it to a small bowl kept in a tray filled with ice cubes. Let stand, stirring occasionally, until the syrup is cold and a little thick.
Now Purée lychees with sugar syrup and lemon juice in a blender until smooth, then filter the liquid from the fruit residu using a colander or a fine mesh. If you have a cocktail shaker, fill it half with ice cubes and add the lychee puree, vodka, and the orange liquer.
Now take a Martini glass, drop a cherry at the bottom, then add 1 tsp cranberry or Grenadine (artificial pomegranate juice) to create the dark red hue that you see in restaurant-served drinks, and fill the remaining glass with the prepared syrup. Garnish the glass rim with a split lemon rind or a mint leaf and drift into the exotic world of this divine fruit!!
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9 comments :
That's an awesome drink Mansi...Love it... and vodka is never optional for me... must have it :D, thanks for the entry!
Lychee Martini, looks nice, Love it...
This is one of my favorites.
Good site you got here.
I simply love the lychee fruit and is very eager to taste this drink, if I get an opportunity...Here in India when lychee is not available we have to just satisfy with the commercial lychee flavoured drinks!
don't worry Kalyan, you can use the lychee concentrate that u get in India...u won't feel much diff (esp with the vodka!!:))
-Mansi
That's a great drink!
Too much work.
Get SOHO Lychee liqueur.
Chill the lychee liqueur in the fridge.
*ALWAYS* keep good vodka in the FREEZER!!!
When ready to make the drink, follow the recipe from the mixing of the vodka to the puree.
You'll be glad you did it this way. It will be MUCH tastier.
For added 'tropical-ish-ness', split the amount of vodka to 1/2 vodka and 1/2 mango rum.
(FYI this is a house favourite.)
I absolutely love this drink when me and my girls go out for friday night drinks i always order this it's so fruity i get this sweet little taste that go's threw my mouth. Awsome drink is all i can say.
Great recipe here! I linked it to my blog post on festive mocktails for New Year's Eve! Mahalo
http://bit.ly/dZIJfC
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