Recipe of the day: Lemongrass and ginger beer
· Citizen

Nthabiseng Nti Ramaboa, better known as Chef Nti, has built her food career around keeping South African food stories alive.
Her cooking brings together familiar flavours and ingredients with a contemporary approach, and she has a particular appreciation for home-grown produce and local food producers.
Visit saltysenoritaaz.com for more information.
Her lemongrass and ginger beer is rooted in memories of Christmas mornings and celebrations in Soweto. It is also a good example of how a few ingredients from the garden can become something that is made to be shared.
Ingredients
- 625g sugar
- 250g fresh ginger, chopped
- 150g lemongrass, chopped
- 4 litres water
- 2 lemons
- 10g yeast
- 1 pineapple, cut into chunks
Method
Bring 1 litre of water to the boil and add the ginger, lemongrass and sugar. Stir until the sugar has dissolved.
Add the remaining water along with the lemon juice and zest and the yeast. Leave the mixture to rest for 10 to 12 hours before straining and refrigerating.
Serve chilled with fresh pineapple.
PrintRecipe of the day: Lemongrass and ginger beer
Nthabiseng Nti Ramaboa, better known as Chef Nti, has built her food career around keeping South African food stories alive.
Her cooking brings together familiar flavours and ingredients with a contemporary approach, and she has a particular appreciation for home-grown produce and local food producers.
Her lemongrass and ginger beer is rooted in memories of Christmas mornings and celebrations in Soweto. It is also a good example of how a few ingredients from the garden can become something that is made to be shared.
Ingredients
-
- 625g sugar
-
- 250g fresh ginger, chopped
-
- 150g lemongrass, chopped
-
- 4 litres water
-
- 2 lemons
-
- 10g yeast
-
- 1 pineapple, cut into chunks
Instructions
Bring 1 litre of water to the boil and add the ginger, lemongrass and sugar. Stir until the sugar has dissolved.
Add the remaining water along with the lemon juice and zest and the yeast. Leave the mixture to rest for 10 to 12 hours before straining and refrigerating.
Serve chilled with fresh pineapple.
window.trCommon={"minRating":6,"ajaxurl":"https:\/\/www.citizen.co.za\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php","ratingNonce":"","postId":4709541}; window.TastyRecipes = window.TastyRecipes || {}; window.TastyRecipes.smoothScroll = { init() { document.addEventListener( 'click', ( e ) => { let anchor = e.target; if ( anchor.tagName !== 'A' ) { anchor = anchor.closest( 'a.tasty-recipes-scrollto' ); } if ( ! anchor || ! anchor.classList.contains( 'tasty-recipes-scrollto' ) ) { return; } const elementHref = anchor.getAttribute( 'href' ); if ( ! elementHref ) { return; } e.preventDefault(); this.goToSelector( elementHref ); }); }, goToSelector( selector ) { const element = document.querySelector( selector ); if ( ! element ) { return; } element.scrollIntoView( { behavior: 'smooth' } ); } }; document.addEventListener( 'DOMContentLoaded', () => window.TastyRecipes.smoothScroll.init() ); window.TastyRecipes = window.TastyRecipes || {}; window.TastyRecipes.staticTooltip = { element: null, tooltipElement: null, deleting: false, init( element ) { if ( this.deleting ) { return; } this.element = element; this.buildElements(); }, destroy() { if ( ! this.tooltipElement || this.deleting ) { return; } this.deleting = true; this.tooltipElement.classList.remove( 'opened' ); setTimeout( () => { this.tooltipElement.remove(); this.deleting = false; }, 500 ); }, buildElements() { const tooltipElement = document.createElement( 'div' ); tooltipElement.classList.add( 'tasty-recipes-static-tooltip'); tooltipElement.setAttribute( 'id', 'tasty-recipes-tooltip' ); const currentTooltipElement = document.getElementById( 'tasty-recipes-tooltip' ); if ( currentTooltipElement ) { document.body.replaceChild( tooltipElement, currentTooltipElement ); } else { document.body.appendChild( tooltipElement ); } this.tooltipElement = document.getElementById( 'tasty-recipes-tooltip' ); }, show() { if ( ! this.tooltipElement ) { return; } const tooltipTop = this.element.getBoundingClientRect().top + window.scrollY - 10 // 10px offset. - this.tooltipElement.getBoundingClientRect().height; const tooltipLeft = this.element.getBoundingClientRect().left - ( this.tooltipElement.getBoundingClientRect().width / 2 ) + ( this.element.getBoundingClientRect().width / 2 ) - 1; const posLeft = Math.max( 10, tooltipLeft ); this.maybeRemoveTail( posLeft !== tooltipLeft ); this.tooltipElement.setAttribute( 'style', 'top:' + tooltipTop + 'px;left:' + posLeft + 'px;' ); this.tooltipElement.classList.add( 'opened' ); }, maybeRemoveTail( removeTail ) { if ( removeTail ) { this.tooltipElement.classList.add( 'tr-hide-tail' ); } else { this.tooltipElement.classList.remove( 'tr-hide-tail' ); } }, changeMessage( message ) { if ( ! this.tooltipElement ) { return; } this.tooltipElement.innerHTML = message; } }; window.TastyRecipes.ajax = { sendPostRequest( url, data, success, failure ) { const xhr = new XMLHttpRequest(); xhr.open( 'POST', url, true ); xhr.send( this.preparePostData( data ) ); xhr.onreadystatechange = () => { if ( 4 !== xhr.readyState ) { return; } if ( xhr.status === 200 ) { success( JSON.parse( xhr.responseText ) ); return; } failure( xhr ); }; xhr.onerror = () => { failure( xhr ); }; }, preparePostData( data ) { const formData = new FormData(); for ( const key in data ) { formData.append( key, data[key] ); } return formData; }, }; window.TastyRecipes.ratings = { defaultRating: 0, currentRatingPercentage: 100, savingRating: false, init( minRating ) { this.minRating = minRating; this.formWatchRating(); this.closeTooltipWhenClickOutside(); this.addBodyClassBasedOnSelectedRating(); this.backwardCompFormRatingPosition(); }, formWatchRating() { const ratings = document.querySelectorAll('.tasty-recipes-no-ratings-buttons [data-rating]'); if ( ratings.length { event.preventDefault(); this.defaultRating = event.target.closest( '.checked' ).dataset.rating; this.setCheckedStar( event.target ); this.maybeSendRating( this.defaultRating, event.target ); this.setRatingInForm( this.defaultRating ); } ); } }, closeTooltipWhenClickOutside() { window.addEventListener( 'click', e => { // Bailout (don't remove the tooltip) when the clicked element is a rating star, or it's the tooltip itself. if ( e.target.closest( '.tasty-recipes-rating' ) || e.target.classList.contains( 'tasty-recipes-static-tooltip' ) ) { return; } window.TastyRecipes.staticTooltip.destroy(); } ); }, setRatingInForm( rating ) { const ratingInput = document.querySelector( '#respond .tasty-recipes-rating[value="' + rating + '"]' ); if ( ! ratingInput ) { return; } ratingInput.click(); }, addBodyClassBasedOnSelectedRating() { const ratingInputs = document.querySelectorAll( 'input.tasty-recipes-rating' ); if ( ! ratingInputs ) { return; } for ( const ratingInput of ratingInputs ) { ratingInput.addEventListener( 'click', currentEvent => { const selectedRating = currentEvent.target.getAttribute( 'value' ); this.handleBodyClassByRating( selectedRating ); this.toggleCommentTextareaRequired( selectedRating ); } ); } }, handleBodyClassByRating( rating ) { if ( rating < this.minRating ) { document.body.classList.remove( 'tasty-recipes-selected-minimum-rating' ); return; } document.body.classList.add( 'tasty-recipes-selected-minimum-rating' ); }, toggleCommentTextareaRequired( rating ) { const commentTextarea = document.getElementById( 'comment' ); if ( ! commentTextarea ) { return; } if ( rating < this.minRating ) { commentTextarea.setAttribute( 'required', '' ); return; } commentTextarea.removeAttribute( 'required' ); }, maybeSendRating( rating, element ) { if ( this.savingRating === rating ) { return; } this.savingRating = rating; window.TastyRecipes.staticTooltip.init( element ); const recipeCardElement = element.closest( '.tasty-recipes' ); if ( ! recipeCardElement ) { window.TastyRecipes.staticTooltip.destroy(); return; } window.TastyRecipes.ajax.sendPostRequest( window.trCommon.ajaxurl, { action: 'tasty_recipes_save_rating', rating, nonce: window.trCommon.ratingNonce, post_id: window.trCommon.postId, recipe_id: recipeCardElement.dataset.trId, }, ( response ) => { window.TastyRecipes.staticTooltip.changeMessage( response.data.message ); window.TastyRecipes.staticTooltip.show(); this.updateAverageText( response.data, recipeCardElement ); this.maybeFillCommentForm( response.data ); // Hide the tooltip after 5 seconds. setTimeout( () => { this.maybeResetTooltip( recipeCardElement, response.data, rating ); }, 5000 ); }, () => { this.resetTooltip( recipeCardElement ); } ); }, updateAverageText( data, recipeCardElement ) { if ( ! data.average ) { return; } this.setRatingPercent( data ); if ( ! data.count ) { return; } const quickLink = document.querySelector( '.tasty-recipes-rating-link' ); if ( quickLink ) { this.setTextInContainer( quickLink, data ); this.setPartialStar( quickLink ); } const cardStars = recipeCardElement.querySelector( '.tasty-recipes-ratings-buttons' ); cardStars.dataset.trDefaultRating = data.average; this.setTextInContainer( recipeCardElement.querySelector( '.tasty-recipes-rating' ), data ); }, setTextInContainer( container, data ) { if ( ! container ) { return; } if ( data.label ) { const ratingLabelElement = container.querySelector( '.rating-label' ); if ( ratingLabelElement ) { ratingLabelElement.innerHTML = data.label; } return; } const averageElement = container.querySelector( '.average' ); if ( averageElement ) { averageElement.textContent = data.average; } const countElement = container.querySelector( '.count' ); if ( countElement ) { countElement.textContent = data.count; } }, setPartialStar( container ) { const highestStar = container.querySelector( '[data-rating="' + Math.ceil( this.defaultRating ) + '"]' ); if ( highestStar ) { highestStar.dataset.trClip = this.currentRatingPercentage; } }, setRatingPercent( data ) { this.defaultRating = data.average.toFixed( 1 ); const parts = data.average.toFixed( 2 ).toString().split( '.' ); this.currentRatingPercentage = parts[1] ? parts[1] : 100; if ( this.currentRatingPercentage === '00' ) { this.currentRatingPercentage = 100; } }, setCheckedStar( target ) { const cardRatingContainer = target.closest( '.tasty-recipes-ratings-buttons' ); const selectedRatingElement = cardRatingContainer.querySelector( '[data-tr-checked]' ); if ( selectedRatingElement ) { delete selectedRatingElement.dataset.trChecked; } const thisStar = target.closest( '.tasty-recipes-rating' ); thisStar.dataset.trChecked = 1; thisStar.querySelector( '[data-tr-clip]' ).dataset.trClip = 100; }, maybeFillCommentForm( data ) { if ( ! data.comment || ! data.comment.content ) { return; } const commentForm = document.querySelector( '#commentform' ); if ( ! commentForm ) { return; } const commentBox = commentForm.querySelector( '[name=comment]' ); if ( ! commentBox || commentBox.value ) { return; } // Add comment details for editing. commentBox.innerHTML = data.comment.content; if ( data.comment.name ) { commentForm.querySelector( '[name=author]' ).value = data.comment.name; commentForm.querySelector( '[name=email]' ).value = data.comment.email; } }, maybeResetTooltip( recipeCardElement, data, rating ) { if ( this.savingRating === rating ) { this.resetTooltip( recipeCardElement, data ); } }, resetTooltip( recipeCardElement, data ) { window.TastyRecipes.staticTooltip.destroy(); this.savingRating = false; // Reset the default rating. const cardRatingContainer = recipeCardElement.querySelector( '.tasty-recipes-ratings-buttons' ); if ( cardRatingContainer ) { this.defaultRating = ( data && data.average ) ? data.average.toFixed(1) : cardRatingContainer.dataset.trDefaultRating; cardRatingContainer.dataset.trDefaultRating = this.defaultRating; this.resetSelectedStar( cardRatingContainer, data ); } }, resetSelectedStar( cardRatingContainer ) { const selectedRatingElement = cardRatingContainer.querySelector( '[data-rating="' + Math.ceil( this.defaultRating ) + '"]' ); if ( selectedRatingElement ) { selectedRatingElement.querySelector( '[data-tr-clip]' ).dataset.trClip = this.currentRatingPercentage; selectedRatingElement.parentNode.dataset.trChecked = 1; } const previousSelectedElement= cardRatingContainer.querySelector( '[data-tr-checked]' ); if ( previousSelectedElement ) { const currentSelectedRating = previousSelectedElement.querySelector('[data-rating]'); if ( currentSelectedRating !== selectedRatingElement ) { delete previousSelectedElement.dataset.trChecked; } } }, backwardCompFormRatingPosition() { const ratingsButtons = document.querySelector( '#respond .tasty-recipes-ratings-buttons, #tasty-recipes-comment-rating .tasty-recipes-ratings-buttons' ); if ( ! ratingsButtons ) { return; } const ratingsButtonsStyles = window.getComputedStyle(ratingsButtons); if ( ! ratingsButtonsStyles.display.includes( 'flex' ) ) { ratingsButtons.style.direction = 'rtl'; } if ( typeof tastyRecipesRating !== 'undefined' ) { // Select the rating that was previously selected in admin. ratingsButtons.querySelector( '.tasty-recipes-rating[value="' + tastyRecipesRating + '"]' ).checked = true; } const ratingSpans = ratingsButtons.querySelectorAll( '.tasty-recipes-rating' ); for (const ratingSpan of ratingSpans) { ratingSpan.addEventListener( 'click', event => { if ( ratingSpan === event.target ) { return; } ratingSpan.previousElementSibling.click(); } ); } } }; (function(callback) { if (document.readyState !== "loading") { callback(); } else { window.addEventListener( 'load', callback ); } })(() => { window.TastyRecipes.ratings.init( window.trCommon ? window.trCommon.minRating : 4 ); });