Conversations & Creations · From my kitchen
A cup of sheer chai with fresh roghni naan is a lovely breakfast. The colour comes from patiently cooking and cooling the tea; the amount of baking soda depends on your water.
Ingredients
- 3 litres water
- 3 handfuls Kashmiri tea leaves (or use a medium serving spoon to measure)
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda, increasing to no more than ½ teaspoon if needed for your water
- 1 glass cold water
- Milk, to taste
- Ground green cardamom, to taste (up to 1 teaspoon)
Method
- Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add the tea leaves and baking soda.
- Cook over medium heat until the tea turns slightly green or yellow. Lower the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.
- When the tea looks reddish, add a glass of cold water and turn off the heat.
- Carefully cool the tea by lifting some into a heatproof bowl or ladle and pouring it back into the pot. Repeat gently until the colour deepens to maroon.
- Strain the concentrated tea into a kettle. Add milk to the colour you like and ground cardamom to taste.
- Simmer over medium-low heat for a few minutes, then serve.
The concentrate can be prepared ahead. Refrigerate it promptly once it has cooled, then strain and reheat what you need before adding milk. Food-safety guidance recommends refrigerating cooked leftovers within two hours.
