Tea is the drink of Afghan hospitality, and green tea scented with cardamom is its most familiar form. Guests arriving at a home or office are offered a cup almost at once, usually with a piece of sugar on the side, and tea appears at breakfast, lunch and dinner alike. The name qahwa (also kahwah or qehwa), used for green tea in Afghanistan, northern Pakistan and parts of Central Asia, may share a root with the Arabic word for coffee, but here it means tea.
Customs of the cup
Afghanistan came to tea through its place on the old Silk Road. Helen Saberi, who lived in Afghanistan in the 1970s, describes the etiquette: a first cup sweetened, chai shireen, then one without sugar, chai talkh. Many people hold a sugar lump, qand, in the mouth while sipping, and the host keeps refilling the glass until the guest turns it over. Tea comes with sugared almonds or chickpeas (noqul), biscuits and other sweets.
Variations
Cardamom is either crushed and sprinkled over the tea or dropped whole into the pot. Black tea is drunk too, and milk is rarely added except perhaps at breakfast. For weddings and engagements there is qaymaq chai, green tea aerated with bicarbonate of soda until it turns dark red, then made pink with milk and topped with clotted cream. Some family recipes add a little cinnamon or ginger.
Ingredients
- 1 litre water
- 3–4 tsp loose green tea
- 6–8 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
- Sugar or sugar lumps (qand), to serve
- Optional: a small piece of cinnamon stick
A home-style way to make it
- Bring the water to a gentle boil.
- Add the cardamom (and cinnamon, if using) and simmer for 5–10 minutes, until the water smells fragrant.
- Take the pan off the heat, add the tea leaves and stir.
- Leave to steep for 1–3 minutes, to taste.
- Strain into a warmed teapot or straight into small glasses or cups.
- Serve with sugar or qand on the side, and with sweets or dried fruit and nuts if you have them.
