A beautifully coloured and flavoured Kashmiri Chai that satisfies our soul. Step by step photos + videos, and tips and tricks for the perfect colour and how to store it in the post!
Bonus: there’s a quantity cheat sheet in there too!
Most of the Kashmiri Chai I have had in my life has been served to me in styrofoam cups. Sometimes it was ladled into them late at night at winter time mehndis with the pulsing rhythm of dance performances in the background and others it was graciously filled by a family member while the loud buzz of excited chatter enveloped the room.
What does Kashmiri Tea taste like?
Kashmiri chai tastes like rich, slightly floral, milky tea with the bright underpinnings of minced nuts, the sweet headiness of cardamom, cinnamon (and even star anise). It is as the rich, luxurious, and when done right it’s absolutely lovely.
Does Pink Tea have Caffeine?
Kashmiri Chai is brewed from green tea leaves which have caffeine so Kashmiri Chai definitely does too! Green teas can have between 30-50 mg of caffeine. For comparisons sake regular tea clocks in around 30-35mg.
Why do you call it Pakistani Kashmiri Chai?
We call it kashmiri chai because what we call Kashmiri Chai is actually not entirely authentic to Kashmir.
Kashmiris make a beautiful beverage called Noon (salty) Chai which is decidedly savoury.
my fake Truth: I always call it Karachi Style Kashmiri Chai, but then my Lahori friends and those from other cities of Pakistan told me that that they too make it exactly this way!
What goes in Kashmiri Chai? i have shared the picture in which all the ingredients are shown which we will use to make kashmiri chai you can take screen shot of this picture to use it anyother time .
Kashmiri Green Tea Leaves – the star, please buy tea leaves labeled as Kashmiri for optimal results
Salt – for that distinct umami
Baking Soda – to help facilitate the pinkness
Cardamom, Cinnamon and/or Star Anise for rich aroma
Milk – because, you know, chai.
Minced nuts – almonds and pistachios – for warmth and flavour
The flavour difference between Kashmiri Chai that is correctly brewed and isn’t is the difference between stove top chai and chai made with a teabag. As the tea leaves for this Pink Tea simmer away they release their flavour into the kahwa. Given that the entire simmering process is hands off please let the tea leaves do their thing and give you the wonderful cup that you deserve.
Steps to Making the Kahwa
Kashmiri Chai is often over complicated, but let me break it down for you to show you how straightforward it really is. Step One: Combine all the kahwa ingredients in the pot and bring it to a boil. Step Two: Simmer for about an hour to reduce by half, if you need ten extra minutes then take them!
Step Three: you need to Turn the stove off and strain the tea leaves (watch the colour!)
Step Four: you need to Pour in the ICE COLD water and aerate with a ladle (or look below for an alternate idea) – this is the only hard part. Spend a good 5-7 minutes ladling the tea from a height, the colour of the kahwa and especially the foam as it hits the water will change.
Making Kashmiri Chai from the Kahwa:
for making kashmiri chai from kahwa you need For every one cup of tea you want to make simply take ⅓ cup kahwa and bring it to a boil stovetop and add ⅔ cup milk to the mix. Bring it to a simmer and add in the nuts and serve with some sugar on the side.
Secret tip: if you add a a tiny splash of cream at this point will really take it up a notch!
Troubleshooting
Help! It isn’t Pink!: if chai is not still pink then you need to Odds are it still tastes fine, but if you want you can always add a little more baking soda to your kahwa (tiny amounts please) to see if that helps the colour. Too much and you will ruin the taste!
Too late
– it’s a Baking Soda Flavored Nightmare: Oops. Okay so here’s what you can do – we are going to add a few more pods of lightly bruised cardamom and fat pinches of nuts, give it a simmer, and then strain out the nuts and cardamom pods. The combination of the two should cut the bitter after taste.
My Hands Hurt: When I ladle the tea and watch it pour back into the cup it feels like meditation. However, normal people don’t feel this way. I have tested many other ways to aerate the tea. My preferred method for tired days is using an electric beater in a very deep bowl. If not the kahwa splatters everywhere and you will spend more time cleaning up than you would have aerating by hand
Kashmiri Chai
Ingredients
6tbspKashmiri Tea Leaves
1tspBaking Soda
¼-1/2 tspsalt
5-6Cardamom Pods
1Badiyan ka Phool (Optional)
1small piece of cinnamon stick (optional)
2cupsice cold water (I mix mine with ice)
finely chopped pistachios & almonds
Instructions
Add all the ingredients except the ice cold water to a pot with 8 cups of cold tap water.
Bring to a boil, simmer for one hour or until the liquid is halved, it’s okay if it reduces a little more but please do cook it down.
Sieve the green tea leaves out.
Now get ready for a work out. Pour the ice cold water from a height into the tea concentrate.
Pour back and forth from bowl to bowl or use a ladle to drop it back into the bowl from a height to aerate the tea. I suggest doing this in your sink or a prepped surface area since it does splash a bit.
After a full 5-8 minutes of doing this the foam the tea produces will take on a rich bodied pink
Bring the tea mix back to a boil, bring to a boil. The “kahwa” is ready.
To make each cup of tea: Take a ladle (about ⅓ of a cup) of the kahwa, bring to a boil, add ⅔ cup milk and a splash of water. At this stage I like to throw in an extra cardamom pod too. Cook for 2-3 minutes and serve topped with a scant spoon of crushed pistachios
Notes
This makes a generous amount of kahwa, for smaller quantities refer to the infographic in the post!
In the original recipe I had suggested cooking for two hours for the large quantity, but after experimenting a few times with the quantities I think about an hour or until the kahwa halves works.
i have shared the picture in which all the ingredients are shown which we will use to make kashmiri chai you can take screen shot of this picture to use it anyother time .
Step One: Combine all the kahwa ingredients in the pot and bring it to a boil. Step Two: Simmer for about an hour to reduce by half, if you need ten extra minutes then take them!
