After-meal tea · 10 minutes

Kahwa Recipe (Peshawari Green Tea with Cardamom)

Light green tea. Lots of cardamom. Do not stew.

Farwa ZeeshanRecipe by Farwa ZeeshanTested in the NineFoods home kitchen

Kahwa is the pale green tea poured after every meal in Peshawar, scented with cardamom and served in small cups. It turns bitter when the leaves are boiled too long. The fix is simmering the cardamom first, then adding green tea leaves off the boil for just two to three minutes before straining.

Prep2m
Cook8m
Servings4
kcal / serving30
LevelEasy
Jump to the method

The 3 laws of kahwa

Why this recipe works

Cardamom first

All together

Full aroma.

Steep briefly

Boil leaves

No bitterness.

Lemon at the end

Early

Fresh tang.

Shopping and prep list

Ingredients

Servings
Tap items as you gather them · 0 of 0 ready

Kahwa

The NineFoods kahwa gauge

Is it ready?

Look at the colour.

Tap a stage to see what to do.

Method · 2 stages

Step by step

1

Spice

Medium · 5 min
  1. Simmer water with cardamom and cinnamon.
Look for: fragrant water.
05:00
2

Steep

Off heat · 3 min
  1. Add green tea leaves off the boil; steep. Use the gauge above.
  2. Strain, sweeten, add lemon.
Look for: kahwa.
03:00

Chef's troubleshooter

What went wrong? Pick the symptom

Why

Leaves boiled.

Fix next time

Steep off the boil.

Why

Too few leaves.

Fix next time

Use 2 tsp.

Why

Little cardamom.

Fix next time

Use 8 pods.

Why

Boiled hard.

Fix next time

Steep gently.

Swap smart

Ingredient roles and substitutes

IngredientJob in the dishSwap with
Green teaBaseGreen tea bags
CardamomAromaNo substitute
LemonTangLeave out
HoneySweetnessSugar

After the meal

Serve, store, reheat

Serve with

After meals, especially karahi and dum pukht.

Store

Best fresh.

Reheat

Not recommended; brew fresh.

How we tested this recipe

Tested in a home kitchen, not a studio

Farwa Zeeshan

Recipe developed and tested by Farwa Zeeshan, who cooks and tests every NineFoods recipe on a regular home stove.

  • Cooked from start to finish with the exact quantities above for 4 servings, using both the metric and US cup measures.
  • Every one of the 2 stages was timed at the stove; heat levels and the 'look for' cues are what we saw in the pan.
  • The doneness check (is it ready) and the troubleshooter come from batches that went wrong, and how we fixed them.
  • Reheating and storage advice was checked on leftovers, not guessed.

Read our full testing process

Keep cooking

Related recipes and guides

All Pakistani recipes10 Essential Pakistani Spices and How to Use ThemHow to Make Garam Masala at HomeHow to Make Ginger Garlic Paste

Quick answers

Kahwa FAQ

What is kahwa?

Peshawari green tea with cardamom.

Is kahwa good for digestion?

It is traditionally drunk after heavy meals for that reason.

How is it different from Kashmiri kahwa?

Kashmiri kahwa adds saffron and almonds.

Can I add honey?

Yes.