South Indian Filter Coffee (Kaapi)
جنوبی ہندوستانی فلٹر کافی (کاپی)
In South India, coffee is as important as chai is in the north. *Kaapi* is made with a two-part steel filter: dark roasted coffee mixed with a little chicory sits in the top chamber, hot water is poured over, and a thick, strong decoction drips slowly into the bottom overnight or over 15 minutes. A few spoons of this go into a tumbler with hot milk and sugar, and it's poured back and forth into a small bowl (*davara*) from a height to cool it and whip up foam. It's strong, milky and sweet.
- ⏱ Total: 25 min
- Prep: 5 min
- Cook: 20 min
- Easy
- Serves 2
Method
Tap a step when it is done.
Put the coffee powder in the top chamber of a South Indian filter, press the plunger disc gently on top and pour in the boiling water. Cover and leave for 15–20 minutes to drip a thick decoction. (No filter? Use a French press with half the water and steep 5 minutes, or a moka pot.)
Bring the milk to a boil until it froths up.
Put 2–3 tbsp decoction and the sugar in each tumbler and top up with hot milk. Pour back and forth between the tumbler and a bowl from a height 4–5 times until frothy. Serve hot.
Kitchen notes
Chicory gives filter coffee its body and slight bitterness. Many Indian grocers sell ready blends labelled 'filter coffee'.
The decoction keeps for a day in the fridge; South Indian homes make it once in the morning.
Adjust strength with more or less decoction; it should taste of coffee, not just milk.
South India’s morning coffee
Coffee came to India through the hills of Karnataka, where, according to legend, the Sufi saint Baba Budan planted seeds smuggled from Yemen in the 1600s. Today Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu grow almost all of India’s coffee, and filter coffee is the daily drink of the south, served in homes, temples and the famous “darshini” cafés.
Coffee and chicory
South Indian filter coffee is usually a blend of coffee with 10–20% roasted chicory root. Chicory makes the decoction darker, thicker and slightly bitter, and it stretches the coffee further, a habit that started during times when coffee was expensive.
The pull
Pouring the coffee from a height between tumbler and davara is called “meter coffee” in cafés, where waiters stretch it a metre in the air. It cools the coffee, mixes the sugar and creates a light froth on top.
Serving
Serve with idli, masala dosa or medu vada. If you like it, try Pakistan’s phenti hui coffee, another way to make frothy coffee without a machine.
Questions people ask
What is a davara tumbler?
A small steel cup (tumbler) set in a wide steel bowl (davara). Pouring between them cools the coffee and makes it frothy.
Can I use instant coffee?
It won't taste the same, but 2 tsp instant coffee dissolved in 2 tbsp hot water makes a quick version.
Nutrition (estimate, per serving)
- Calories
- 130
- Protein
- 6 g
- Fat
- 6 g
- Carbs
- 14 g
