Peshawari Kahwa

Ingredients

The tea

• 3 teaspoonsgreen tea leaves
• 1 litrewater
• 6green cardamom pods
• lightly crushed

Sometimes added

• a small piece of cinnamon
• 2cloves
• a few strands of saffron
• a strip of lemon peel

To sweeten and top

• sugar, to taste
• or none at all
• 3 tablespoonsalmonds
• blanched and crushed
• or slivered pistachios

To serve

• in small cups
• poured from height
• at a bazaar tea house

Directions

1. Let boiled water stand a few minutes. Or add a splash of cold water. Take it off before it ever does. Press each pod with a knife flat. The pod itself should split open.
2. Press each pod with the flat of a knife. The pod should crack right open. Bring all the water to a boil. Then take it right off the heat.
3. Let it stand for three or four minutes. That brings it down to about eighty. Add the cardamom to the hot water. Add the cinnamon and cloves if using. They need longer to release flavour.
4. Let them steep for a few minutes first. Add all of the green tea leaves. Green tea needs less than black. Let it steep for two or three minutes. Two minutes gives a delicate cup.
5. Add a few strands of saffron in. A very few strands is quite enough. Crush it between your fingers first. Strain the tea to remove the leaves. Leaves left in the pot keep brewing.
6. Strain it as soon as it is ready. Keep the whole spices out too. Stir sugar into the strained tea. Pour boiling water over all of them. Leave them a minute and drain. Crush all the almonds roughly. Leave all of them fairly coarse. They should be visible in the cup.
7. Chop them rather than grinding. Pour the hot tea into small cups. Pour it from a height if you can. Take real care not to splash it. Scatter crushed almonds on each cup. Add slivered pistachios if you like. Small cups keep the tea properly hot. Make it entirely fresh each time.

Technique

• Green tea must not be brewed with boiling water, which scorches the leaves and makes it bitter and astringent — the commonest mistake with green tea. Boil the water, take it off and let it stand three or four minutes to reach about eighty degrees. It also brews quickly: two minutes gives a delicate cup and three a fuller one, and beyond that it turns bitter.
• Tree nut allergy can be severe, almonds and pistachios both go in, and a cup of tea does not look like it contains nuts — so say clearly what is on it.
• Crush the cardamom pods only enough to split them open with the flat of a knife, since whole uncrushed pods release very little; do not grind them to powder, as the whole pod goes into the pot.

Substitutions

• Slivered pistachios stand in for almonds or go on alongside them; chop the nuts coarsely rather than grinding, since ground nuts make the tea cloudy.
• A few saffron strands crushed between the fingers give colour and a floral note; it is expensive and easily overdone.

Variations

• Qissa Khwani means the storytellers’ bazaar: caravans passed through Peshawar for centuries, the market was where news travelled and the tea houses were where people sat, which the name records exactly.
• Add the spices to the water before the tea leaves, since they need longer to release their flavour; some cooks simmer them briefly first and then cool the water before the tea goes in.
• Strain the tea as soon as it is ready, since leaves left in keep brewing and turn the pot bitter.

History

Poured from brass samovars in Peshawar’s Qissa Khwani bazaar, the storytellers’ market where travellers once traded news over tea.

Frequently asked questions

What is Peshawari Kahwa?

Peshawari Kahwa is a drink from Pakistan: pale green tea steeped with cardamom and topped with crushed almonds. Poured from brass samovars in Peshawar’s Qissa Khwani bazaar, the storytellers’ market where travellers once traded news over tea.

How long does Peshawari Kahwa take to make?

Peshawari Kahwa takes 10 minutes of preparation and 10 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Peshawari Kahwa?

Yes, within limits. Slivered pistachios stand in for almonds or go on alongside them; chop the nuts coarsely rather than grinding, since ground nuts make the tea cloudy. A few saffron strands crushed between the fingers give colour and a floral note; it is expensive and easily overdone.

What is the most important thing to get right in Peshawari Kahwa?

Strain it as soon as it is ready. Keep the whole spices out too. Stir sugar into the strained tea. Pour boiling water over all of them. Leave them a minute and drain. Crush all the almonds roughly. Leave all of them fairly coarse. They should be visible in the cup.