serves
6
prep
5 minutes
cook
40 minutes
difficulty
Easy
serves
6
people
preparation
5
minutes
cooking
40
minutes
difficulty
Easy
level
Ingredients
- 4 cups (960 ml) ice-cold water
- ¼ cup (20 g) loose Kashmiri tea leaves
- 4 green cardamom pods, cracked
- 1 star anise (optional)
- ¼ tsp salt, or to taste
- ¼ tsp bicarbonate soda (baking soda)
- 4 cups (960 ml) full-fat milk
- Sugar, for sweetening
- 1½ tbsp roughly crushed pistachios (optional)
Instructions
- In a saucepan, bring 2 cups (480 ml) of the ice-cold water to a boil over high heat. Add the tea leaves, cardamom pods, star anise (if using) and salt. Lower the heat to medium and cook for about 15 minutes until the liquid reduces by half.
- Stir in the baking soda and, once it foams, start aerating the tea – pouring the liquid into the saucepan from a height with a ladle – for about 3 minutes until the colour begins to change. Add the remaining 2 cups (480 ml) ice-cold water and let the tea cook over medium heat for 15 minutes while continuing to aerate it. Once the tea acquires a deep burgundy hue, remove the pan from the heat and strain the tea into another clean saucepan or airtight container for later use. This will yield roughly 2 cups (480 ml) tea.
- To serve, bring the strained tea to a gentle simmer in a saucepan and add the milk. Once warm, stir in the sugar to taste. Pour into cups. Top with pistachios (if using), before serving.
Note
My Lahore-based aunt, Fatma Shah, whose maternal side is Kashmiri, instructed that the authentic way to get this tea’s beautiful hue is to give the tea a cold-water shock and aerate it until the leaves turn a burgundy red. Many home cooks today, however, take a shortcut and add baking soda to speed up the process.
Recipe from by Maryam Jillani (Hardie Grant Books, HB $55). Photography by Sanjeev Thakur, Waleed Anwar and Insiya Syed.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
