There is something innately special about teatime rituals. Some find it therapeutic or rejuvenating, others use it as an opportunity to bond and a few like me consider it as sacred. For me, those 15 minutes in the morning when I take my first cuppa set the tone for the rest of the day. The morning breeze accompanied by a silence that is broken only by the fluttering of the pigeons helps me reach a state when I strike a conversation with my inner self. And on most days, it is the only cherished 'me' time that I can manage to find.
There is no denying that tea is akin to a holistic experience. But being the tea addict that I am, I end up trying various flavours of tea on a regular basis instead of sticking to one. Every time I visit a hill station or a shop that sells gourmet tea, I never forget to pick up a new blend. And it happens quite often that the half finished packets end up in a corner of the cupboard as I move on to a new blend.
Recently it was post on Pintrest that got me all excited about trying out Kahwa. While I did look up quite a few recipes on the net, this one comes straight from Sanjay Raina who runs Mealability that specializes in Kashmiri cuisine. I did not have the Kahwa green leaves in stock so made it with some green tea leaves that I had picked up from Coonoor .
Read on -
Preparation Time - 15 mins
Ingredients -
- 2 1/2 cups of water
- 2 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp green tea leaves
- 1 inch cinnamon
- 1 green cardamom
- a few strands of saffron
- a few slivers of almond
Preparation - Bring to water to a boil along with sugar and the spices. Let it simmer for 5-7 mins.
Rub the tea leaves gently between your palms before adding to the water. Remove from flame and let it steep for 2-3 mins.
Strain into cups. Add the almond slivers.
Serve hot.
