Kewra
Kewra, keora or kewda (Hindi: केवड़ा, Bengali: কেওড়া, Odia: କିଆ, Urdu: کیوڑہin Punjabi ਕੇਵੜਾ/کیوڑہ )is an extract distilled from the flower of the pandanus plant. It is primarily used to flavour South Asian cuisine. Pandanus is native to tropical South Asia, Southeast Asia, Australasia and is used as flavoring agent throughout much of these regions.
The male pandanus flower is almost exclusively used for kewra distillation. Approximately 95% of total kewra flower exported from India is collected from areas surrounding Berhampur city in Ganjam district.[1] The coastal areas of Chhatrapur, Rangeilunda, Patrapur and Chikiti are famous for their aromatic pandanus plantations. Arguably, flowers from coastal locales have an exquisite floral note that rival inland varieties with the most famous varieties being those endemic and cultivated in Gopalpur-on-Sea. Cultivation of kewra flower is a major source of income in Ganjam district and there are nearly 200 registered kewra distillation factories.
Kewra is also used in traditional Indian perfumery, both as functional fragrance and in Ittar.
