Onam is just around the corner and the entire blog world that I know of are making Onam Sadya recipes. I dream of cooking up an elaborate Onasadya every year, not to do anything much. My love for God’s own country and kerala cuisine is not unknown to the regular readers. This year too, I let the opportunity slip by and have not made any sadya recipes. But I do have a refreshing tea recipe from Malabar Coast – Sulaimani Tea! Ever since I watched the Malayalam movie Ustaad Hotel and saw the Sulaimani Chai in it, I have been very intrigued. The movie itself is very endearing and the scenes between Dulquer and his grandfather are so lovely to watch. Though we have done many trips to Kerala, I tasted this special tea in a Kerala restaurant and fell in love with it.
Sulaimani Tea – Sulaimani Chai, a beautiful amber concoction of spices and tea is very simple to make at home. There is no milk added in this tea recipe and this is more like the Kattan Chaya or black tea. It is believed that the recipe was brought to India, the Malabar coast especially from Arab traders. It is also believed that Prophet Mohammed drank a herbal concoction made from dates and black pepper. And over the years, the recipe changed course and once it was introduced in the Southern peninsular, it took a different form in what we know as today’s Sulaimani Tea. In Arabic, Sulaimani meant “man of peace” and no wonder this tea gets such a beautiful name.
It is a tea brewed with mixed spices and tea leaves. There is no milk added in the tea. The basic spices used are green cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and ginger. In rich version, saffron is also used. Drinking black tea has a lot of health benefits. Steeped black tea is rich in anti-oxidants. It also helps in digestion and improves gut health. Drinking tea helps reduce the bad LDL cholesterol. It also helps in keeping your heart healthy.
In Malabar region of Kerala, Sulaimani Chai is said to be served along with every meal to aid with the digestion. Thalassery Biriyani and Sulaimani tea are match made in heaven! The flavor of the tea leaves is very mild in this recipe and it is the rest of the spices that make it very refreshing. From the versions of Sulaimani Chai I tasted in restaurants, it is usually flavored with cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and ginger. You could sweeten it with sugar, jaggery or even honey. In some versions, lemon juice is squeezed before serving the tea.
Before I move on to the recipe, here is a popular dialogue from the movie Ustad Hotel. The grandfather tells his grandson to appreciate every small good thing in life – “Oro Sulaimanilum oru ithiri Mohabbat venam. Adhu Kudikumbol, logam ingene padhukazhai vanu nikenam” - Every Sulaimani needs a bit of love in it. When you drink it the whole world comes to a standstill. How beautiful and true is that?!
📖 Recipe
Bring water to a boil in a pot. Add crushed ginger and boil for 2-3 mins on medium flame.
Pound the rest of the spices coarsely in a mortar-pestle.
Add it to the pot and boil for another 3-4 mins on medium flame.
Now add tea powder and let it steep in for a couple of minutes.
As the tea changes color and the flavor is steeped in, remove from heat.
Add sweetener of your choice – sugar/unrefined sugar/jaggery/honey.
Strain the tea on to serving glasses and serve hot immediately.
Adjust the spices as per preference. Don’t boil the tea for too long – there is a lot of difference between kashayam (herbal concoction) and tea! Don’t add a lot of tea powder, the main flavor comes from the spices and adding lot of tea/brewing for long makes it bitter.
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