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Ranawara tea
Tanner's cassia flower tea
රණවරා: golden tanner's cassia flowers boiled into a mild, grassy herbal tea, sipped with jaggery
Ranawara, tanner's cassia, is a scrubby shrub with bright golden flowers that grows wild along dry-zone roadsides and in gardens from Kurunegala to Jaffna. The flowers are picked, dried in the shade and sold in packets at every Sri Lankan supermarket and ayurvedic shop, and many households drink a cup each morning instead of plantain tea, traditionally believing it helps balance blood sugar and cool the body during the hot season. It brews into a pale golden-yellow tea with a mild, grassy, slightly beany taste and a gentle bitterness, which is why it is drunk with a piece of jaggery or a spoon of kithul treacle. The common mistake is brewing the flowers with too little water or for too long: the bitterness takes over. A good pinch per cup, a short simmer and a few minutes' steep is enough. It is ready when it is clear and bright yellow and smells like dried hay. Ranawara is a senna-family plant: do not drink it if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, do not give it to young children, and check with a doctor if you take diabetes or other regular medication. Chef's tip: add a few dried flowers to the cup when serving; they float and turn the colour even more golden.
- Total time
- 12 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the tea
- ⅓ oz dried ranawara flowers (tanner's cassia)about 4 tbsp
- 4 ¼ cups water
To serve
- 1 ⅜ oz kithul jaggeryin small pieces, or a little kithul treacle
- 1 tsp dried ranawara flowers (optional)to float in the cups
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Method
0/4 doneStep 1: Rinse the ⅓ oz dried ranawara flowers (tanner's cassia) in a sieve under running water.
1 minStep 2: Put the flowers in a pot with the 4 ¼ cups water and bring to the boil over medium-high heat, about 6 minutes.
6 minStep 3: Lower the heat and simmer for 2 minutes, then turn off the heat and steep for 3 minutes, until the tea is clear golden-yellow and smells of hay. Do not boil longer or it turns bitter.
5 minStep 4: Strain into cups, float a few 1 tsp dried ranawara flowers on top and serve hot with pieces of 1 ⅜ oz kithul jaggery on the side.
1 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 40 kcal
- Protein
- 0 g
- Carbs
- 10 g
- Fat
- 0 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does ranawara tea take?
- About 12 minutes in total: 2 minutes to prepare and 10 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of kithul jaggery?
- Dark brown or muscovado sugar, same amount.
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