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Masala Chai

April 24, 2020 by pakistaneats 3 Comments

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In my bid to fill gaping holes in the blog (see bhindi masala post), I bring you a masala chai recipe. My husband, Saptarshi, has been after me for years to post a basic chai recipe given its central place in a Pakistani household. At home in Islamabad, we only have simple Lipton black tea that is brewed in a teapot for a few minutes and served alongside milk and sugar. It wasn’t interesting enough to warrant a post. But when I tried this Lahore Deli Chai recipe a couple of years ago, I learned of the special joy of a spiced, creamy chai. When I recreated it a couple of weeks ago, I realized that it was a little too spicy and too milky for my taste. There had to be a middle ground.

This masala chai recipe is that middle ground. A typical roadside Pakistani chai is doodh pati – tea leaves cooked in milk. That’s Lahore Deli’s variation as well. But since I cannot stand too much milk in my coffee or tea, I adapted the recipe to make it less milk heavy. I took some lessons from my friend Izzah’s authentic chai recipe on her blog; and Numra of Empress Market from her tutorial on Instagram.  

This masala chai recipe is for me. If you are looking for a doodh pati recipe or a really complex masala chai, you will have to look elsewhere. This is tea primarily brewed in water (rather than milk) and lightly spiced with a pinch of ground fennel seeds and cardamom. I played around with the recipe a few times and here’s what I learned.

How to Make This Chai Recipe Your Own

  • I only used ground cardamom and a pinch of fennel seeds in this recipe but don’t let that stop you from playing around. I was chatting with my Twitter friends, and people incorporate a whole range of spices including fresh ginger, cloves, black pepper and cinnamon sticks. See what you like.
  • Whatever spices you use, remember to infuse them for a couple of minutes in simmering water in the beginning.
  • Use strong black tea. You can use teabags as well. In this recipe, I added loose Tapal tea and strained it towards the end.
  • Use whole milk! In fact, some will go as far as urging you to use fresh milk only but we know that can be a little difficult.
  • Izzah and Numra both recommend aerating the tea with a ladle. I didn’t have the patience to do that but I was occasionally whisking it. This apparently helps make it creamier.
  • Do not serve the tea in glass! I thought it would look good in photos but it’s really impractical. Stick to mugs and teacups.

I hope these tips and recipe will guide you to make your own perfect cup of masala chai. Till then, enjoy and Ramadan Mubarak!  

masala-chai-square

Masala Chai

A simple recipe for a masala chai that's somewhere between dhaba tea and the one I grew up having at home.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Cook Time 15 mins
Course Drinks
Cuisine Pakistani Cuisine
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • 4 cups water
  • Pinch of fennel seeds ground
  • 4 cardamom pods removed and ground
  • 5 tsp loose black tea or teabags
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 5 tsp sugar or to taste

Instructions
 

  • Bring 4 cups water to boil. Reduce to simmer and add ground spices and tea. Let it simmer for 2 minutes.
  • Whisk in milk. Bring to boil.
  • Lower heat and let milk simmer for 8 minutes, whisking occasionally and skimming any residue from the top.
  • Remove from heat, stir in sugar or sweetener.
  • Strain and pour in mugs or teacups.
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Previous Post: « Mariam’s Gujarati Aloo (Spiced Potatoes)
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Anon

    October 15, 2020 at 3:01 pm

    Hey , since its much more water than milk , will the tea be very watery or will it thicken up

    Reply
    • pakistaneats

      October 17, 2020 at 8:06 am

      Hello! Since it’s not milk-based tea, it won’t be as thick as doodh patti but bringing the water and milk to boil and letting it simmer does thicken the chai.

      Reply

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About Me

Hi! I'm Maryam, a food writer and enthusiastic home cook, excited to share traditional but accessible Pakistani recipes. Read More…

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