Kewra
A sweet floral water from screwpine flowers, sprinkled on biryani, kheer and Mughal sweets.
Also: kewda, screwpine essence, Pandanus odorifer water
Kewra, or kewda, is the distilled essence of the male flowers of Pandanus odorifer, a screwpine that grows along the coasts of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. The Ganjam district of Odisha produces most of the world's supply. The scent is sweet, rosy and slightly fruity. Cooks add a few drops of kewra water to biryani, kormas, kheer, gulab jamun syrup and drinks such as sharbat, and perfumers use the attar. Because it is strong, a drop or two is enough. It is part of the Mughal-Awadhi tradition of aromatic finishing, together with rose water and saffron, added after cooking so the aroma stays fresh.