Puerto Rican Horchata de ajonjoli: Sesame Seed Horchata Recipe
This Puerto Rican sesame seed horchata, also known as horchata de ajonjoi is your go-to cold drink recipe that is made at home with just a few ingredients. The flavor profile is delicate, yet refreshing with hints of vanilla, lemon, sesame, and honey.
Heat small non-stick pan over medium heat and add raw white sesame seeds. Toast seeds, while stirring often, until it reaches a golden amber color. Remove seeds from pan once toasted.
½ cup white sesame seeds
Soaking Sesame Seeds
Add warm water, sesame seeds, cinnamon sticks, and cloves to a large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and allow it to sit, room temperature, for a minimum of four hours to soften.
3 cups water, 2 whole cloves, 2 cinnamon sticks
Blend Softened Seeds
Add all of the soaked seed mixture into a blender, and blend until smooth.
Strain Blended seeds
Strain the blended mixture through a fine mesh sieve, cheesecloth, or nut bag into a large bowl.
Infuse Milk
Warm all the infused milk ingredients, except for the lemon rind, in a medium pot over medium heat for five minutes. After five minutes, add the lemon rind, and continue to simmer for 5 minutes longer.
1 can evaporated milk, 10 oz condensed milk, 1 whole cinnamon stick, 2 whole cloves, 2 tablespoon honey, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 pinch salt, 2 tablespoon white granulated sugar
Strain milk mixture through a fine mesh sieve into the large bowl with the strained sesame seed mixture.
Mix horchata mixture well, taste for sweetness, adjust if desired. Pour the horchata into a pitcher and refrigerate overnight for best results.
Serve
Serve over ice and garnish with a cinnamon stick and lemon zest or a smill amount of lemon rind.
Notes
Substitutions
Here are some simple ingredient substitutions you can use:
Sesame Seeds: White rice, oatmeal, barley, or tiger nuts.
Cinnamon Sticks: 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon in both soaking and milk mixture.
Whole cloves: ⅛-1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves. I would add this into the milk mixture. Taste and adjust to preference.
Honey: Optional; Do not substitute.
Evaporated milk: Whole milk, coconut milk, or any other preferred "milk."
Condensed Milk: Coconut cream, or replace with more sugar. (Condensed milk elevates the horchata drink; I would not leave this out.)
Lemon: Do not substitute. This is optional, but I promise it adds a great depth of flavor to this sesame horchata!
Sugar: Use your favorite sugar substitute or brown sugar.
Salt: Optional; It balances out the sweetness.
Notes on lemon
The longer you leave the lemon rind, the stronger the flavor. Do not leave the lemon rind inside the horchata while it is in the pitcher. It will overwhelm the drink if left in for too long.I suggest adding a small amount of lemon zest as a garnish when serving individual drinks (or a small rind that can be removed once the optimal amount of zest flavor is reached). The fresh flavor of lemon adds so much flavor to this horchata, and I would not omit it.