Express News Service
SRINAGAR: As the winter has set in and the night temperature has fallen below freezing point, a Kashmiri man is serving Kashmiri kehwa with 16 ingredients to the tourists and travellers in his moving shikara in the cold waters of Dal Lake to keep them warm and also display his hospitality and kehwa-making skills.
“With this sweet kehwa, I am ensuring that pure Kashmir ka swaad (taste) reaches the country and abroad,” said Mohammad Mushtaq Hussain Akhoon, popularly known as Mushtaq Kehwa or ‘kehwa man’.
Mushtaq says he started serving Kashmiri kehwa on his boat in the Dal Lake from 2014. “My kehwa is not an ordinary kehwa. It is different and tasty. While the normal Kashmiri kehwa has 11 ingredients, my kehwa has 16 ingredients, which are all beneficial for the human body,” he said.
His kehwa includes saffron, almond, walnut, cashew nut, honey, cinnamon, ginger, sangram, chai pati, rose petals, dates and cardamom. Mushtaq serves the hot kehwa from a traditional Kashmiri kettle (samovar) to the travellers in the Dal Lake from the early morning till late afternoon.
“I row my boat in the waters of Dal Lake. I carry all the ingredients of the kehwa and serve the hot and sweet kehwa to the travellers in the Dal Lake,” he said adding, the tourists have a special liking for his kehwa. “My kehwa not only keeps people and tourists warm in the cold weather condition but also provides them medicinal benefits,” said Mushtaq.
A cup of hot kehwa costs `50 and the locals and the tourists like his kehwa. “I add pure honey and saffron to the kehwa for better taste. You will not get this kehwa in any top hotel in the country. This can be found only in Dal Lake,” said Mushtaq. “My kehwa, which is very tasty and sweet, represents Kashmir’s love and hospitality,” he said, adding he has served kehwa to tourists from within the country and abroad and all of them have liked it.
SRINAGAR: As the winter has set in and the night temperature has fallen below freezing point, a Kashmiri man is serving Kashmiri kehwa with 16 ingredients to the tourists and travellers in his moving shikara in the cold waters of Dal Lake to keep them warm and also display his hospitality and kehwa-making skills.
“With this sweet kehwa, I am ensuring that pure Kashmir ka swaad (taste) reaches the country and abroad,” said Mohammad Mushtaq Hussain Akhoon, popularly known as Mushtaq Kehwa or ‘kehwa man’.
Mushtaq says he started serving Kashmiri kehwa on his boat in the Dal Lake from 2014. “My kehwa is not an ordinary kehwa. It is different and tasty. While the normal Kashmiri kehwa has 11 ingredients, my kehwa has 16 ingredients, which are all beneficial for the human body,” he said.
His kehwa includes saffron, almond, walnut, cashew nut, honey, cinnamon, ginger, sangram, chai pati, rose petals, dates and cardamom. Mushtaq serves the hot kehwa from a traditional Kashmiri kettle (samovar) to the travellers in the Dal Lake from the early morning till late afternoon.
“I row my boat in the waters of Dal Lake. I carry all the ingredients of the kehwa and serve the hot and sweet kehwa to the travellers in the Dal Lake,” he said adding, the tourists have a special liking for his kehwa. “My kehwa not only keeps people and tourists warm in the cold weather condition but also provides them medicinal benefits,” said Mushtaq.
A cup of hot kehwa costs `50 and the locals and the tourists like his kehwa. “I add pure honey and saffron to the kehwa for better taste. You will not get this kehwa in any top hotel in the country. This can be found only in Dal Lake,” said Mushtaq. “My kehwa, which is very tasty and sweet, represents Kashmir’s love and hospitality,” he said, adding he has served kehwa to tourists from within the country and abroad and all of them have liked it.
