Ingredients
The tea
- 4 teaspoonsblack tea
- a strong loose leaf
- 700 mlwater
The hawaash spices
- 8green cardamom pods
- crushed
- 1 stickcinnamon
- 6cloves
- 3cm fresh ginger
- sliced
- a few black peppercorns
- optional
To sweeten
- sugar, generously
- added to the pot
Sometimes added
- a little milk
- though often none
- a strip of orange peel
Directions
- Adjust it before you start brewing. Do not reduce that quantity much at all. Press each one with a knife flat. The pod should crack right open. Use a pot larger than seems needed. Crush the cardamom pods lightly.
- Press each pod with a knife flat. The pod should crack right open. Slice the fresh ginger thinly. Slice it rather than grating it. Thin slices give up more flavour.
- Leave the skin on if it is clean. Wash it thoroughly either way. Put all the water into a large pot. Add all the crushed spices to it. They need longer to release flavour.
- Bring the whole pot up to a boil. Let the spices boil for five minutes. Add the tea leaves to the pot. Boil the tea for about three minutes. Three minutes gives real strength.
- Stir the sugar into the pot fully. Add it while it is still boiling. Taste it before straining it out. It should be very clearly sweet.
- Lift the pot off if it climbs. Add a little milk if you want it. Add it near the end if you use it. Let it come back to a boil once. Then take it straight off the heat. Strain the tea through a fine strainer. Strain it genuinely thoroughly. Strain it twice if it looks cloudy.
- Pour it from a height into the cup. Pour carefully from that height. Do not ever do it over anyone. Pour it into small glasses or cups. Small servings keep it genuinely hot. Make it fresh every single time.
Technique
- Boil the spices five minutes before the tea goes in, since they need far longer to release their flavour than the leaves do — that head start genuinely matters. Then boil the tea only about three minutes, since longer makes it bitter and tannic and that cannot be removed.
- Sugar makes the tea foam up and boil over readily, so use a pot larger than seems needed, watch it closely once the sugar is in, and lift it off the heat if it climbs.
- Pour it from a height into the cup, which aerates and cools it slightly and builds a little foam — but do it over a tray or sink and never over anyone, since boiling tea scalds very badly.
Substitutions
- A little milk makes it closer to Somali shaah cadays, which the atlas also carries; Djiboutian tea is often drunk black and both are genuinely drunk. Add milk near the end, let it return to a boil once and take it straight off.
- Hawaash is a Djiboutian spice mixture of cardamom, cinnamon and clove with ginger and pepper often added, mixed differently in every household — there is no single fixed recipe and the atlas gives one common version.
Variations
- Crush the cardamom pods only enough to crack them open with the flat of a knife rather than grinding them, since the whole pod goes in — ground cardamom clouds the tea and uncrushed pods release little. Slice the ginger rather than grating it for the same reason: slices stay behind in the strainer.
- The sugar goes into the pot rather than the cup and is part of the drink rather than an optional addition — ask how sweet people want it and adjust before brewing.
- Cardamom, cloves and cinnamon are none of them native to the Horn of Africa: all arrived by sea through Djibouti’s port from India and Zanzibar over centuries, and became entirely local regardless.
History
Black tea boiled with cardamom, cinnamon and clove, spices that reached Djibouti’s port from India and Zanzibar; hawaash is the local spice mix.
Frequently asked questions
What is Shaah hawaash?
Shaah hawaash is a drink from Djibouti: sweet tea brewed with cardamom, cinnamon and ginger. Black tea boiled with cardamom, cinnamon and clove, spices that reached Djibouti’s port from India and Zanzibar; hawaash is the local spice mix.
How long does Shaah hawaash take to make?
Shaah hawaash takes 5 minutes of preparation and 15 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 4. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Shaah hawaash?
Yes, within limits. A little milk makes it closer to Somali shaah cadays, which the atlas also carries; Djiboutian tea is often drunk black and both are genuinely drunk. Add milk near the end, let it return to a boil once and take it straight off. Hawaash is a Djiboutian spice mixture of cardamom, cinnamon and clove with ginger and pepper often added, mixed differently in every household — there is no single fixed recipe and the atlas gives one common version.
What is the most important thing to get right in Shaah hawaash?
Adjust it before you start brewing. Do not reduce that quantity much at all. Press each one with a knife flat. The pod should crack right open. Use a pot larger than seems needed. Crush the cardamom pods lightly.
