In United States, all we know about Afghanistan is that it is a distant country, which served as the staging ground for the attack against United States. We know that the war against terrorism is still going on, and our soldiers are still there trying to bring a semblance or order to this once lawless country. But if you think about it, there is a lot more to learn more to Afghanistan the country, the people, the culture. Here is a brief glimpse of the women of Afghanistan from photo journalist Lana Slezic.

Not unlike India, tea is a major drink in Afghanistan. . The big diffference is in the way the Afghanis drink thier tea. Afghanis like to drink their tea green. This type of tea is called Kahava in India. In India Kahva is consumed mostly in the Northern states of Jammu and Kashmir.

Kahva is not prepared by steeping tea leaves, rather it is made by boiling tea leaves. This process of making tea makes it bitter, and hence it is not unusual for afghanis to hold a hard candy in the mouth as they drink Kahva. In Kashmir, Kahva is indeed made by including sugar in it, and adding a few spices. like cinnamon, cloves etc ot the tea.

Ellen’s kitchen has an interesting article on Kahva - not the Afghani green tea, but the very similar Kashmiri Green tea. Here is the link”