Used Plant Part: Male flowers. They are almost exclusively used in the form of a aqueous distillate called kewra water.

Sensory Classification: Kewra flowers have a sweet, perfumed odour with a pleasant quality similar to rose flowers, but kewra isfruitier. The aqueous distillate (kewra water, Pandanus flower water) is quite diluted; it can be used by the teaspoon, often even by the tablespoon. 

 

KEWRA ATTAR

Main constituents: The essential oil from pandanus flowers is dominated by 2-phenylethyl-methylether (β-phenyl ethyl methyl ether, 60 to 80%); minor components are the free alcohol, 2-phenylethanol (β-phenyl ethyl alcohol) and its acetic acid ester; 2-phenylethanol is also an important aroma component in rose water. Because it is well soluble in water, 2-phenylethanol can be captured in aqueous distillates quite easily

Furthermore, monoterpenes have been found to contribute to the fragrance. The most important terpene in pandanus flowers is terpinene-4-ol (up to 15%); furthermore, α-terpineol, γ-terpinene and dipentene have been reported.

The ripe fruits of P. tectorius owe their scent to an essential oil dominated by esters: Besides geranyl acetate, a couple of hemiterpenoid esters were found: isopentenyl (3-methylbut-3-enyl) and, to a lesser degree, dimethyl allyl (3-methylbut-2-enyl) acetates and cinnamates.

Origin: Various species of the genus grow in tropical regions of Southeast and South Asia; some of those have fragrant leaves. The species most important as a source of kewra water is P. odoratissimus, which is native to South and peninsular South East Asia; it is much cultivated on the Indian East coast (Orissa). 

Pandanus fruit (P. odoratissimus)

A closely related species is Pandanus tectorius Parkinson with a more Pacific distribution from Australia to Polynesia. Its flowers are fragrant, but it is not used for the production of kewra water.

Some other Pandanus species are valued because of their edible fruits or their strong leaves, which can be used for plating.

Description: Pandanus flowers, stemming from a palm-like tree cultivated in India, have a delicate, floral scent and can be used to flavour foods, particularly Northern Indian sweets. This flavouring must not be confused with pandanus leaves, which stem from a related species and are used occasionally in Southern India, but mostly in South East Asia, to flavour sweet rice dishes.

Pandanus water, distilled from male pandanus flowers, is popular in Northern India and mainly used to flavour the phantastic sweets Indians can prepare from so commonplace ingredients as milk and sugar. The most important milk products for sweets are evaporated milk and a type of Indian cheese: By boiling milk, one first obtains a viscous liquid called rabadi ; boiling further, one arrives at a sticky, aromatic mass known as khoya Indian cheese is obtained by precipitating milk protein from boiling milk by the addition of some acid; in its raw form, it is called channa or chhanna which can be made into a compact product called paneer that is chiefly used for savoury dishes. Channa may be replaced by a neutral brand of cottage cheese; instead of khoya, I usually employ a thick mixture of milk and dry evaporated milk.

Some common Indian sweets especially attributed to Bengali cuisine but available all over the country, are ras gulla (balls of channa and flour cooked in syrup), gulab jamun (fried balls of khoya and flour served with syrup) and ras malai (channa balls in a rich, creamy rabadi sauce). In order to not waste the delicate scent, pandanus water is sprinkled over the balls just before eating; only the ras gulla are often let steep in pandanus-flavoured syrup for longer time, but in that case it's important to have the container tightly closed. As an alternative, saffron may be used to flavour the milk-based ras malai sauce, but for the other recipes, saffron wouldn't work so well.

Another application are the highly aromatic rice dishes the Moghul cuisine is famous for (biriyani, see cardamom). The most elaborate recipes sometimes call for kewra water to be sprinkled over the rice just before serving. In Central Asia and in the Gulf countries, where pandanus is unknown, similar rice dishes are often perfumed with rose water, which is also delicious.

Although pandanus trees grow almost everywhere in tropical Asia, kewra water is still mainly a Northern Indian flavouring that is not used anywhere else. Indian emigrants, however, have taken their likening for this flavour with them, and have transported pandanus trees to other tropical areas. In Western cooking, kewra water makes a fine alternative to the flower essences already in use, like rose or orange.

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