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Karak Chai

Recipe by The Cozy Bowl Kitchen

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  • Total Time15 minutes
  • Yield2 cups 1x

Strong black tea boiled with crushed cardamom, then boiled again with evaporated milk and sugar until thick, sweet and deeply malty. Poured from a height for a light foam on top.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 250 ml cold water
  • 5 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
  • 2 tsp loose leaf CTC Assam tea, or the leaf from 3 strong teabags, split open
  • 150 ml whole milk
  • 150 ml evaporated milk (unsweetened, tinned)
  • 4 to 5 tsp caster sugar, to taste

Optional additions (choose one)

  • 2 cm slice fresh ginger, bruised
  • 1 small piece cinnamon stick
  • 3 saffron threads, steeped in 1 tbsp hot milk

Instructions

  1. Crush the cardamom pods lightly with the flat of a knife or the base of a mug, just enough to crack them open. Do not grind them.
  2. Put the water, crushed cardamom pods and tea leaves into a saucepan that is at least four times the volume of your finished drink. Add the ginger or cinnamon now if using.
  3. Bring to the boil and boil for 3 to 4 minutes, until the liquid is very dark, almost black, and smells strongly of tea. This is much stronger than tea brewed in a mug, which is correct.
  4. Add the whole milk, evaporated milk and sugar. Stir well.
  5. Bring back towards the boil over a medium heat, watching the pan constantly. As it rises and foams up the sides, immediately lift the pan off the heat and let it settle.
  6. Return it to the heat and let it rise again, then lift it off. Repeat once more, so it has risen three times in total. Each rise thickens the tea and deepens the colour. Do not leave the pan at any point.
  7. Stir in the saffron milk now if using.
  8. Strain through a fine sieve into a warmed jug, pressing gently on the leaves to extract the last of the strength.
  9. Pour from the jug into small cups from a height of about 30 cm, which aerates the tea and gives a light foam on top. Alternatively pour back and forth between two jugs a couple of times.
  10. Serve immediately, while the foam is still on top.

Notes

Use a much bigger pan than you think you need: Milk foams up to three or four times its resting height, very suddenly and with almost no warning. A pan at least four times the liquid volume, and do not walk away from it during the boiling stage.

Why evaporated milk: It is concentrated, so it gives karak its characteristic thick, slightly caramelised body without watering the tea down. It is not the same as condensed milk, which is heavily sweetened. All whole milk will work but gives a noticeably lighter result.

The mistake to avoid: Adding the milk too early. Boiling the tea leaves in water alone for the first 3 to 4 minutes is what extracts the strength and colour. Milk added at the start coats the leaves and you end up with weak, milky tea.

Crush, do not grind, the cardamom: Cracked whole pods release their aromatic oils gradually as they boil. Ground cardamom clouds the tea and turns bitter.

Storage: Best made fresh. Leftovers can be strained, cooled and refrigerated, then reheated gently without boiling, as re-boiling turns it bitter and can split the milk. Cooled karak poured over ice is excellent, and it also freezes well in ice cube trays for dropping into cold milk.

Variations: Replace the evaporated milk and sugar with 3 tbsp sweetened condensed milk for a sweeter, thicker version. Add cinnamon, cloves, peppercorns and fennel with the cardamom for a masala chai style. Make it double strength, cool completely and serve over ice.

Equipment: A saucepan much larger than the liquid volume, a fine sieve, a warmed jug and small cups or glasses.

Please note: This is a strongly brewed black tea with a high caffeine content and is traditionally quite sweet.

Allergen note: Always check the label of every ingredient you use, as recipes and allergen information can change. People with food allergies or intolerances must also consider cross-contamination.

Take particular care with the whole milk and evaporated milk (milk). Cardamom and other whole spices may be packed in facilities that also handle nuts, mustard or sulphites. Allergen information must be confirmed by The Cozy Bowl before it is relied upon.

This is a home recipe inspired by a dish or flavour available at The Cozy Bowl. It is not the restaurant’s exact commercial recipe.

Find it online: https://thecozybowl.co.uk/karak-chai-recipe/