May Photo A Day : Day 4 : In My Cup
In my cup is Kashmiri Kahwah
Kahwah (Also spelled qehwa, kehwa or kahwa) is a traditional green tea consumed in Jammu and Kashmir.
During our 2 year stay in Jammu, our neighbors introduced us to this tea.
The tea is made by boiling green tea leaves with saffron strands, cinnamon bark and cardamom pods and cloves.
Generally, it is served with sugar or honey, and crushed nuts, usually almonds or walnuts. I like it without the nuts.
This post is a part of May Photo A Day.
May 3, 2013 7:02 pm|
I am not a tea person but my friend from Srinagar is always pitching the drink to me!
May 4, 2013 8:28 am|
LOL… the people in J&K are having this Kahwah all the time 😀
May 3, 2013 7:12 pm|
I love Kehwa. I have had it multiple number of times. My ma prepares it in winters for us, whenever we visit her now 🙂
May 4, 2013 8:29 am|
Your mom stays in J&K, Kajal?
Yes, it is best enjoyed in winters!
May 3, 2013 7:14 pm|
I prefer coffee over tea but I simply love this, thanks to the Kashmiri neighbours we had some years back.
May 4, 2013 8:29 am|
Ohk… you are a coffee person, Harshita! I am in love with tea! 😀
May 3, 2013 7:22 pm|
Haa u stayed in Jammu !!
May 4, 2013 8:30 am|
Yeah, for more than 2 years 🙂
May 3, 2013 7:40 pm|
Speechless! Very creative. And love the cup 🙂
I had kehwa recently at Northern Frontier, Pune. They specialize in Kahmiri, Afghani cuisine. But I love my standard strong tea more than anything else.
May 4, 2013 8:31 am|
Thanks Reema, glad you liked the post!
I love my tea… ie tea made as per my specifications and of course made by me only… but I do enjoy Kahwah too! 🙂
May 3, 2013 7:55 pm|
What a pretty picture. And Kehwa sounds too good. Love that Matka. I too had my tea in such a thing until I switched to Green Tea and the brown colour made it confusing to guess the tea-strength. I hear such lovely things from my Jammu friends. Lucky you!
May 4, 2013 8:35 am|
Thanks Nandana. Kahwah is the drink for winters but you can have it like any other time too. Jammu is a great place to stay. We loved our times there! 🙂
May 4, 2013 12:29 am|
Aww Whay a beautiful picture.I also love to have Kahva,flavoured with cardamoms. The container(Khullar) adds to its taste.
May 4, 2013 8:37 am|
True, the mitti kulhar adds to the taste and the aroma is great too. This one in the pic is a ceramic mug in the shape of a kulhar. 🙂
May 4, 2013 12:51 am|
That’s a lovely image and I can only imagine the divine taste going by the ingredients 🙂
May 4, 2013 8:38 am|
It sure is very refreshing! 🙂
May 4, 2013 2:27 am|
We have a family…Dhar….from the valley living in our condo..Lady of the house does serve this sometimes.
May 4, 2013 8:39 am|
Yes, it is a regular beverage in kashmiri houses! 🙂
May 4, 2013 3:11 am|
Haven’t tasted this so far. Now, I must.
May 4, 2013 8:39 am|
You must, Janaki 🙂
May 4, 2013 3:39 am|
Dry fruits in tea sound a bit alien but have heard people raving about Kehwa. The cup’s very pretty.
May 4, 2013 8:44 am|
The almonds are blanched and finely sliced and they taste good. When you are drinking it, they settle down, so novices like us had to finish the dry fruits with a spoon in the end. But the people out there are pro in drinking and eating these simultaneously and they never use a spoon to scoop the remaining dry fruits. We learnt their style over a period of time 😀
May 4, 2013 4:12 am|
Crushed nuts in tea, or separately?
This should be good for winters btw… all hot ingredients. Will try it in winters.
May 4, 2013 8:45 am|
Blanched and finely sliced nuts are added either to the boiling water or you may add them later too. But they are in your cup! It is a good drink for winters… we used to have it after lunch and dinner. Do try it out!
May 4, 2013 5:17 am|
looks divine.!!!
btw,did u know that the word coffee originated from the arabic word ‘kahwah’… though it is basically tea, but that where it originated from. and this info has been given to me by my little one who is a lot into etymology now-a-days..!!
May 4, 2013 8:48 am|
What a coincidence… I read about this just yesterday! 😀
May 4, 2013 6:51 am|
I don’t like green tea much. I prefer tea with lots of milk and lots of sugar. But of course, I can try this one, once… 🙂
Destination Infinity
May 4, 2013 8:54 am|
Me too… milky tea is my favorite! Try it out sometimes…
May 4, 2013 6:58 am|
U stayed for two years in Jammu !!
thats more tempting than tea to me and I heard abt Kawwa . I guess I had it once in a similar matka
WOWW !!
love the click shilpa
Good day
May 4, 2013 8:57 am|
Have you visited J&K? Jammu was our home for over 2 years and it was a wonderful experience… some lovely memories, great friends and a fab place…small town with laid back attitude but we loved it. 🙂
Try this Kahwah whenever you can! 🙂
May 4, 2013 7:35 am|
such an earthy pic, shilpa. You must share some jammu pics or stories some day.
I was introduced to this tea by our close family friends – the Razdans. She makes it in an samovar. Not all enjoy this taste but i like the taste since i regularly drink green tea.
May 4, 2013 9:01 am|
Yeah, the natives of the place use Samovar… but we make it in our tea saucepan on gas or the borosil tea kettle in microwave. I know, initially I thought what’s this hot water tea… but then I fell in love with it and for 2 years it was a ritual at our place… had it after every meal and of course sometimes in between too!
Jammu pics should be on Facebook 🙂
May 4, 2013 8:14 am|
Wow! I have never had Kahwah so far. Awesome click!
May 4, 2013 9:02 am|
Will make for you when you come to Jaipur next! 😀
Thanks 🙂
May 4, 2013 10:10 am|
Never had kawah but that kulhad shaped mug is so very inviting!!!
May 4, 2013 10:28 am|
You must taste it sometimes. We have a pair of them… got it from a handicraft exhibition. 🙂
May 4, 2013 11:45 am|
It is my fav! My nephew’s wife (a Kashmiri) makes it to perfection. I love the nuts in it too.
May 4, 2013 4:00 pm|
Wow! That’s nice!! 🙂
May 4, 2013 12:13 pm|
I did not get an opportunity to taste Kehwa yet, but I love masala chai.
The cup is too cute 🙂
May 4, 2013 4:01 pm|
It is good… try it out whenever possible. I love masala chai too! 🙂
May 4, 2013 12:14 pm|
WE are going to Kashmir next month and in our itinerary travel agent mentioned welcome drink as Kahwah…Its looking nice 🙂
May 4, 2013 4:04 pm|
Wow! That’s cool. DO TRY this tea and also Noon Chai.
Noon chai is made from special tea leaves, milk, SALT, pistachios, almonds, and cardamom. It is pink in colour! 🙂
May 4, 2013 3:17 pm|
I am tea thirsty now. 🙂
May 4, 2013 4:04 pm|
LOL… have a cup now! 🙂
May 4, 2013 4:13 pm|
wow! I’ve never had this kind of tea!!
I love the cup! Let me see if I can find any, even if it is to just drink regular chai!! 😀
May 5, 2013 8:40 am|
We got this cup from a crafts exhibition… Hope you get it. 🙂
May 5, 2013 10:41 pm|
Never heard of it. Learned a new thing today 🙂
May 6, 2013 10:27 am|
Happy to enlighten 😉
May 6, 2013 7:38 am|
oooh sucha lovely drink this is <3 almonds and saffron. Marriage in heaven.
May 6, 2013 10:27 am|
You make it at home, Pallavi?