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Tumuro tea
تومورو چائے (tumuro chai): Hunza's herbal tea of wild mountain thyme
Tumuro is the small-leaved wild thyme that grows on the rocky slopes above Hunza and Gilgit, and in late summer families pick and dry bundles of it to brew through the year. The tea is pale gold and intensely aromatic, more resinous and floral than garden thyme, and it is drunk after heavy meals, by anyone with a cold and simply as a warming cup on a mountain evening; cafés in Karimabad serve it to visitors. Boiling it hard for a long time is the misstep that turns it bitter and medicinal. Chef's tip: if you cannot find tumuro, which is sometimes sold in Pakistani grocers and online as Hunza thyme, use dried garden thyme with a few fresh sprigs, steep it gently, and sweeten with a little sugar only if you like.
- Total time
- 10 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 2
Ingredients
For the tea
- 2 ½ cups water
- 2 tsp sugar (optional)
- 2 lemon slices (optional)
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Method
0/3 doneStep 1: Bring 2 ½ cups water to the boil in a small pan.
3 minStep 2: Add 2 tsp dried tumuro (Hunza wild thyme) or dried thyme, lower the heat and simmer very gently for 2 minutes, then cover, take off the heat and steep for 3 minutes until pale gold and fragrant.
5 minStep 3: Strain into cups, sweeten with 2 tsp sugar if you like and add 2 lemon slices. Serve hot.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 5 kcal
- Protein
- 0 g
- Carbs
- 1 g
- Fat
- 0 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does tumuro tea take?
- About 10 minutes in total: 2 minutes to prepare and 8 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 2 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.
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