Ponche Navideño (Christmas Punch)
Warm up with this classic Ponche Mexicano recipe! It’s so easy to make. Gather a few basic ingredients and you’ll be sipping this warm drink in less than 1 hour! Recipe yields about 12 mugs of punch but multiply as desired.
Ingredients
- 1 gallon (16 cups/4 liters) water
- 1 cup dried hibiscus flowers
- 3 tamarindo pods (peeled )
- 1 large cinnamon stick or 3 small
- 8 ounce piloncillo or 1 cup sugar (Or more according to taste)
- 4 cloves
- 10 tejocotes or 2 apples (cut in halves)
- 2 pears (chopped )
- 1 to 2 apples (chopped )
- 4 to 5 guavas (cut into 8 pieces)
- 3 to 4 (about 5 inches long) sugarcane sticks (peeled and sliced into sticks)
- 5 mandarins or (2 oranges cut into slices) (peeled )
- 7 oz prunes, dried cranberries or raisins
Instructions
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Add the water to a large stockpot and set to high heat. Add the jamaica, tamarindo pods, cinnamon sticks, cloves and piloncillo/sugar. Cover and boil for about 15 minutes.
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Remove the hibiscus, tamarindo pods and cloves prior to adding the fruit. This way they're not served in the drink. Discard.
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Add all of the fruit, cover and bring to a soft boil. Once it starts to boil uncover and cook for 15 minutes. Cooking it for this long will leave a little crunch on the fruit. If you like soft fruit, cook for an additional 10 minutes.
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Taste for sweetness and add more sugar according to taste.
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Remove from heat and cover pot. Let it steep for another 15 minutes. ½
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Note on guavas (guayabas) if you add any: If they're very soft, then you can place whole or cut in halves. If they're very firm, cut into 8 pieces. If you have guavas from a jar, then add at the last 5 minute as they're already cooked.
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutritional values are estimates from the original source.