Sitting in the portico of a house boat, watching the beauty of the Dal lake with the backdrop of the Himalayas and sipping Kawah...bliss! The taste is still vivid on my lips just as vivid as the experience of that trip.
We asked Bashir Bhai to share his Kawah recipe. The recipe he did not share, instead, he took us to the Dal lake market and helped us pick a packet of Kashmiri tea leaves and some really good saffron. I religiously drank the tea 2-3 times in a day and different places to figure out the exact taste.
Heres my take on the Kawah -
This is a recipe for 4 cups as its best enjoyed with friends.
All you need -
4 small cups of water [mind you, dont use the fashionable coffee mugs which as extremely famous these days]
3 cardamom pods cracked
2 inch cinnamon stick
2-3 strands of saffron
4-5 teaspoons of sugar
3-4 almonds crushed coarsely with the skin*
Kawah chai patti
On the stove -
Bring to boil water along with cardamom, cinnamon, saffron and sugar. This will give out a sweet aroma.
On another stove, add a few teaspoons of this mixture and add crushed almonds and lets them soften for a minute.
When the water boils, add 4 pinches of the Kwah tea leaves [remember its a ratio of 1 pinch per cup]
Let the tea leaves settle.
The liquid you now have will be slightly golden brown.
Strain it out and add the almond mixture [you don't boil the almond with tea so that you dont lose almonds after straining the tea leaves]
Pour out into mini Kawah tea cups and serve.
*Some people also add roasted pumpkin seeds, but let me tell you, it doesn't taste good!! So stick to your old friend almond.
Sip away!
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