It’s been a year since I had my first mulled wine in Europe and I so miss not spending Christmas there. We travelled through Paris and parts of Germany and I must say it was the best holiday I’ve ever had. Nostalgia pushed me into the kitchen and there i was looking up recipes to create a mulled wine that would go well with the Potato Salad, Bratwurst and Sauerkraut I had decided to make for dinner.
When I started to read through the recipes I realised a lot of the ingredients were much-needed in colder countries where the temperature dipped to under 5 and even went in the minus zone, in India and more so in Bombay who needs a wine that warms you up? The recipe has thus been tweaked for warmer weathers. It keeps all the essential flavours and Christmasy aromas intact, it’s just not as potent.
Serves: 4
Time Taken 20 minutes
Equipment needed: Thick bottomed pan, hot plate or gas cook top
Skill levels: Basic
Ingredients:
- 2 Clementines, 1 juiced up and 1 sliced round (you could substitute these for oranges)
- 1 lemon, sliced round
- 3 tablespoon of powdered sugar (you could use honey too)
- 2 cups apple cider
- 750 ml of red wine (I’ve used Dindori by Sula)
- 2 star anise
- 2 cinnamon twirls (I’ve used Sri Lankan cinnamon)
- 3 cloves
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon of grated nutmeg
Method:
1. Place the sugar, juice of 1 clementine, 3-4 slices of clementine and lemon and apple cider in a pan and let it blend in together on a low flame.
2. When the sugar and juice blend in add half the wine and all the other ingredients.
3. Let it simmer over a low heat for 10 minutes, add the left over wine and take it off the heat. (do not boil it as the alcohol will burn off)
4. Pour into heat-resistant glasses and serve with sliced oranges, lemons and cinnamon sticks.
