Kinkéliba

Ingredients

Leaves

• 4 tablespoonsdried kinkeliba leaves
• Combretum micranthum
• 1.5 litreswater

Sometimes added

• sugar, to taste
• 1cm fresh ginger, sliced
• a few mint leaves
• a squeeze of lemon
• a little honey

To serve

• hot in small glasses
• after meals
• or chilled in hot weather

Directions

1. Check the dried leaves for twigs. Pick out any of the larger stems. Crumble the leaves lightly with your hands. Do not crush them to powder though.
2. Put them into a fine sieve briefly. Rinse them under cold running water. Drain them off again straight away. Put the leaves into a large pot.
3. Add all the measured water to them. Bring the pot up to a full boil. Let it simmer for about fifteen minutes. Keep it covered as it simmers. A lid keeps the aromatic compounds in. Keep it covered right throughout. Judging the strength takes a look.
4. Add sliced fresh ginger to the pot. Let it simmer along with the leaves. Pour it through a fine mesh sieve. Press the leaves against the mesh. Discard all of the spent leaves. Sweetening it is done to taste.
5. Add sugar while the liquid is hot. Stir it until it dissolves completely. Adjust the sweetness to your own taste. Serving it hot is the usual way.
6. Pour it out into small hot glasses. Serve it after the meal has finished. Add a squeeze of lemon if you like. Serving it cold is the other way.
7. Let it cool to room temperature. Serve it over ice in hot weather. It keeps three days refrigerated. Make it fresh each time where you can.

Technique

• The dried leaves are boiled rather than steeped, since a brief steep would extract almost nothing from a tough leaf; fifteen minutes covered is about right and twenty is the limit, because longer boiling draws out an unpleasant astringency.
• Kinkeliba is widely used as a household remedy for digestion, fever and as a diuretic, but those uses are traditional rather than proven, research on them is limited, and it should not replace medical treatment; it is a drink rather than a cure.
• Crumble the dried leaves lightly so they give up more to the water, but do not crush them to powder, which makes the drink cloudy and hard to strain.

Substitutions

• Honey in place of sugar sweetens it just as well.
• Fresh ginger simmered with the leaves gives warmth and a sharper edge.

Variations

• Mint is added to the pot in some households.
• It is drunk hot after meals or chilled over ice in hot weather.
• It is drunk right across the Sahel under a variety of local names.

History

Combretum micranthum leaves are dried and boiled; the infusion is drunk in Guinea and across the Sahel and used as a household remedy.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kinkéliba?

Kinkéliba is a drink from Guinea: leaf tea of a Sahel shrub, drunk hot after meals. Combretum micranthum leaves are dried and boiled; the infusion is drunk in Guinea and across the Sahel and used as a household remedy.

How long does Kinkéliba take to make?

Kinkéliba takes 5 minutes of preparation and 20 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Kinkéliba?

Yes, within limits. Honey in place of sugar sweetens it just as well. Fresh ginger simmered with the leaves gives warmth and a sharper edge.

What is the most important thing to get right in Kinkéliba?

Check the dried leaves for twigs. Pick out any of the larger stems. Crumble the leaves lightly with your hands. Do not crush them to powder though.