Makes several cups

One afternoon in Sana'a after a long afternoon of cooking and eating, my friend's sister-in-law came in and asked if I'd like to see one of their neighbours giving birth. I accepted the invitation a little nervously and went next door half-expecting to see the baby's head emerging from between the woman's legs.

Fortunately, what I had been invited to was a 'birth party' - a local tradition where all the women in the neighbourhood go and visit the mother of a newborn baby and sit around drinking tea, smoking pipes and gossiping.

At one stage the women asked me what I would do if I were married and my husband wanted to take a second wife. They all roared with approving laughter and applause when I made a scissor gesture with my hands indicating that I would cut his dick off.

Ingredients

1 litre of water
2 black tea bags
6 cardamom pods, smashed into little pieces in a mortar and pestle
10- 15 tbsp sugar
200 mls condensed milk
Sesame seeds for sprinkling

Instructions

Place the water in a large pot and bring to a boil. Add the tea bags and cardamom and boil for 1 minutes, then remove from the heat and stir in the sugar. Leave to steep for 10 minutes, then remove the tea bags.

Stir in the condensed milk and pour into the small teacups. Sprinkle a few pinches of sesame seeds into each cup and serve hot.