Saunf tea
Preparation Time
5 minutes
Cooking Time
10 minutes
Difficulty Level
easy
Meal Type
Drinks
Serves 2
Key Ingredients
- Fennel seeds (saunf)
About This Recipe
Indians know saunf as the pale green seeds served after a meal, eaten by the pinch for their sweet, refreshing taste. Saunf tea turns the same fennel seeds into a hot drink, sometimes called fennel seeds tea: the seeds are crushed, simmered briefly and strained, and each cup is sweetened with jaggery.
This is the quick version, the one a home kitchen makes on a weekday. Crushing the seeds rather than powdering them opens up the flavour without clouding the cup, and a two-minute steep keeps the tea mellow instead of sharp. The other well-known fennel drink is saunf water, made by soaking whole seeds in cool water overnight; that one is cold, uncooked and made ahead, and it answers a different need. Our guide to how to make saunf water covers the overnight soak and when to drink it.
The cup is pale gold, sweet and lightly scented, with the ginger and cardamom sitting behind the fennel. Leave out the ginger or the cardamom for a plainer tea, and skip the sweetener altogether if you prefer. Jaggery gives a rounded sweetness, sugar a cleaner one, and honey works too. Half a tablespoon of fennel seeds for each cup is the starting measure; use double for a stronger brew.
Ingredient List
Serving Size:
1x
2x
3x
Tea
- Fennel seeds (saunf) — 1 tbsp
- Green cardamom pods, lightly crushed — 2 pieces
- Fresh ginger, grated — 1 tsp
- Water — 2 cups
To sweeten
- Jaggery powder — 2 tsp
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Serving Suggestions
Serve hot, plain or sweetened, after dinner or with toast and biscuits. The drink suits the same moment as the after-meal habit of eating a few saunf seeds, so a small bowl of the seeds beside the cups feels right. Pour the second cup into a flask to keep it hot, and for the festive milk version of this flavour see thandai.
Tips for Cooking Saunf tea
Crush the fennel lightly, just enough to split the seeds; powder makes the cup cloudy and hard to strain. Keep the pan at a gentle simmer once the seeds go in, and cover it during the steep so the aroma stays. Sweeten each cup separately, because everyone wants a different sweetness, and strain while the tea is still hot.
Chef’s Note
Crushing is the step that decides the tea: whole seeds give almost nothing in two minutes, while powder clouds the cup. A cup comes to about 28 kcal and 1.2 g of fibre, most of the kcal from the sweetener; the figures count the seeds used to brew the pot, and most of those stay behind in the strainer.
Per serving (approx.): 28 kcal, protein 0.6 g, carbs 5.8 g, fat 0.5 g, fibre 1.2 g. Computed from IFCT 2017 / USDA values for the listed quantities. Measures: 1 cup = 240 ml, 1 tbsp = 15 ml, 1 tsp = 5 ml.
Happy Cooking
!!
ByCOWBERRY
Sep 15, 2026
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