Kashmiri Chai

Anyone who has been following Halal Food Diary for a while will know I’m a real lover of Chai, but Kashmiri Chai has to be my favourite! Takes a while to make, but the amazing taste makes it worth every second!

Kashmiri Chai

No doubt you've tried Kashmiri Chai at weddings, but now you can have it at home with this easy-to-follow recipe!
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Course: Drinks
Cuisine: Pakistani
Keyword: Chai, Kashmiri Chai, Tea
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 6

Ingredients

  • 2 Cups Cold Water
  • 2 & ½ Tbsp Kashmiri Tea Leaves (or Green Tea leaves)
  • 1 Star Anise
  • 6-8 Green Cardamom Pods lightly crushed
  • 1 Bark of Cinnamon small
  • ½ Tsp Baking Soda
  • 2 Cups Ice Cold Water
  • 2 Cups Milk full-dat
  • 1 Tbsp Sugar or to taste
  • Handful of Almonds
  • Handful of Pistachios

Instructions

  • Pour 2 cups of cold water into a saucepan and boil at Medium heat until the water starts to bubble
  • Pour the Tea leaves into the water, continuing to boil at Medium heat and stir for about 5 minutes
  • Add in the spices (listed in the ingredients above) and the baking powder. You can also add 1/2 Tsp of Salt at this point to further enhance the taste
  • Cook the tea at Medium heat for about 10 minutes while stirring. The stirring is key here – I know it may get tiring, but believe me it’s worth the amazing taste you’ll get! Keep stirring until the liquid becomes to turn pink in colour and the water begins to evaporate until you have approximately half of the amount you put in at step 1
  • Add in 2 cups of ice cold water and continue to cook at Medium Heat while stirring. At this stage I recommended that you stir vigorously, and continue to stir for about 10 minutes
  • Sieve the tea into a separate container and leave to one side
  • Boil 2 cups of milk in a saucepan. If you wish to make your tea sweet then you can add sugar at this stage – I personally like mine sweet so I add 1-1.5 Tbsp Sugar, however you can add it to suit your taste. Boil the milk for about 5 minutes
  • Add in half a cup of the tea liquid to the milk and stir for about 5 minutes. You will notice that the colour will go light pink over time
  • Chop up the Almonds and Pistachios finely 
  • Pour the tea into two cups and sprinkle over the chopped nuts, Enjoy!

Notes

  • Making Kashmiri Tea takes patience! It’s not a quick recipe, but it’s really worth every second for the rich taste you get
  • The Kashmiri Tea liquid (at step 6) can be stored in the fridge for a few days and used as and when you fancy a cup. I tend to make a portion and it lasts me a week if I’m the only one drinking it at home
  • You can also repeat step 5 again. I.e. add another 2 glasses of ice cold water and allow it to cook for 10 minutes until a lot of the liquid evaporates. I didn’t do this in the video I’ve filmed and you can see that I got a great pink colour – but repeating step 2 will further enhance the colour and taste