Drinks

Kashmiri Kahwa

Name: Kashmiri Kahwa
Prep time: 3 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 13 min
Yield: 3 cups
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 3 cups water; 1 tsp green tea leaves (or 2 green tea bags); 10–12 Baby Saffron threads; 3 green cardamom pods, crushed; 1 small cinnamon stick; 2 tsp honey or sugar, to taste; 6–8 almonds, slivered

The warm, fragrant tea of Kashmiri winters. Saffron, cardamom and cinnamon steeped with green tea and finished with slivered almonds — light, golden and quietly reviving.

A glass cup of golden Kashmiri kahwa with slivered almonds and saffron

Prep

10m

Cook

Serves

Easy

Level

Ingredients

3 cups water
1 tsp green tea leaves (or 2 green tea bags)
10–12 Baby Saffron threads
3 green cardamom pods, crushed
1 small cinnamon stick
2 tsp honey or sugar, to taste
6–8 almonds, slivered

Method

1
Simmer the water with the cardamom, cinnamon and saffron for 3–4 minutes until golden and fragrant.
2
Add the green tea and steep off the heat for 2 minutes — don't over-boil, or it turns bitter.
3
Strain into cups and sweeten with honey or sugar.
4
Finish with slivered almonds and an extra thread or two of saffron.

The saffron tip

Add the saffron to the simmering water, not at the end — a couple of minutes of gentle heat pulls its full colour and aroma into the kahwa.