Kewra

Pandanus odorifer · Edible flower

40 pairings

Kewra (kewda, keora) is the male flower of the coastal screwpine, distilled into a rose-scented water that is one of the defining aromatics of North Indian and Mughal cooking. It is a different plant from the pandan leaf of Southeast Asia — same genus, different species, and an entirely different job in the kitchen.

Picking a good onedrag

Freshly opened, rose lifting off hot basmatiFlat in the bottle, the perfume gone

In useThe standard kitchen bottle. Add it at the end and taste as you go — a teaspoon of the water, or a single drop of the essence, scents a whole pot. The two are not interchangeable: the essence is many times the strength, and poured at kewra-water quantities it turns a biryani soapy and perfumed.Everyday best

The date on the labelOpened, capped again, still comfortably in date

Smell as the cap turnsClearly kewra, but you have to bring it to your nose

The bottle in your handHalf used, cap tight, kept away from the stove and the window

What to look for, from freshly opened, rose lifting off hot basmati to flat in the bottle, the perfume gone.

Preparing