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Home » Recipes » Drinks

Pakistani Style Masala Chai

April 24, 2020 by pakistaneats 6 Comments

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masala chai with fennel seeds
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  • How to Make This Chai Recipe Your Own
  • Masala Chai Recipe

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.

masala chai with sugar and fennel seeds

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 with sugar
masala-chai-square

Masala Chai Recipe

A simple recipe for a masala chai that's somewhere between dhaba tea and the one I grew up having at home.
5 from 2 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Cook Time 15 mins
Total Time 15 mins
Course Drinks
Cuisine Pakistani Cuisine
Servings 4 people

Ingredients
  

  • 4 cups water
  • Pinch of fennel seeds ground
  • 4 cardamom pods removed and ground
  • 5 teaspoons loose black tea or teabags
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 5 teaspoons 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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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
  2. Samina

    November 09, 2021 at 6:37 am

    5 stars
    I love this recipe! I make masala chai at home all the time now - thank you!

    Reply
  3. Atharva Sharma

    May 09, 2022 at 10:07 am

    5 stars
    This recipe is just woah I loved your recipe very much. As I had drink masala chai of MahaChai's very much and I love their taste so so much. As they uses their own ingredients for making their tea special.

    Reply

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About Me

Hi! I'm Maryam, an international educator and food writer, excited about bringing you traditional Pakistani recipes from across the country. Learn more.

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