Friday 13 October 2017

Our House Everyday Pakistani Tea.



Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

When I told my Mother that I wanted to take pictures of her making our everyday Pakistani tea, she laughed at me.
Mainly because to her it's something so simple.
A drink she makes numerous times in a day and can probably (and sometimes does - looking at you, Sehri time) make in her sleep. She just couldn't understand why anyone would want the recipe for this - her most simple concoction.

Tea is a big deal to anyone from England. It's the national drink usually made with boiling water from the kettle, a tea bag, sugar and a splash of milk. Not in this house. Or any Pakistani house that I know of for that matter. To us, the word tea (chai) means cooked in a pan with water, milk, whole spices, tea bags (my cousin's family swear by loose leaves) and sugar. To us, tea means get the tea pan on.

The recipe I'm sharing today is our version of the everyday Pakistani tea. When tea is called for, this is what is made in our house. My parents prefer their tea made with just milk and no water (doodh patti - milk and tea bags or leaves). Preferably whole milk so that things are extra creamy but usually it's semi-skimmed because that's what's always in the fridge. I will share the classic Pakistani tea made with water and more spices but for now, a simple recipe for the everyday drink in our house.

A Simple List of Ingredients:
1. Milk
2. Tea Bags
3. Sugar
4. Green Cardamoms

Bismillah, let's begin!

Introducing our house tea pan! This deep, heavy-bottomed saucepan is used for Pakistani tea and Pakistani tea alone. Any good quality pan will do for you.

We've tried replacing it a few times but nothing has come close to taking its crown.

Into the pan, pour 650ml Milk. We prefer to use whole milk but had to make do with semi-skimmed on this occasion. Remember, this is an everyday tea so make do with what you have in the fridge. Except for any dairy-free milk. I can't even begin to imagine the reaction from my parents if I served them Pakistani tea made from almond milk.

Next, add in 2 Tea Bags.

These were PG Tips teabags but sometimes our loyalties shift to Tetley, Typhoo and Yorkshire. One of my personal faves is Lipton especially in loose leaf form.

Then, in goes 3 teaspoons Sugar. You can add more or less according to taste.

Finally, the spice. For our everyday version, we use 5 Green Cardamoms.

My Mother likes to wrap them in kitchen paper and bash them so that they crack slightly and release their seeds. The seeds give our tea more flavour!

And, that's it for the ingredients. All we do now is cook!

Give everything a stir and place the pan over a medium-high heat.

Let the tea come to its first boil. Make sure to turn the heat down at this point as you don't want the milk to boil over. It loves doing that!

After the first boil, turn the heat down to low and let the tea cook for at least 5 minutes. The longer the tea cooks, the more flavour it will have.

Once the tea has cooked, bring it up to the boil a few times. This helps to froth the tea up and creates bubbles. You can also ladle the tea up and down through the air to create even more bubbles and froth.

Once you're happy with the tea, squeeze out the teabags.

Catch any cardamoms that you can see. We'll catch the rest with the strainer.

Pakistani tea is best served straight away so let's pour it out.

I couldn't resist using this teapot and mug set for the tea. You can get it here!

Strain the tea into the pot.

Let's serve!

If you want more bubbles and froth, simply pour the tea from a height.

Serve the tea with your sweet treat of choice

For us, a batch of Portuguese custard tarts. I used this recipe and am hoping to post them onto the blog soon.

Enjoy! Also, if you have a good Pakistani tea recipe, I would love to hear about it.

Our House Everyday Pakistani Tea.

Prep Time: About 5 minutes.
Cook Time: About 10 minutes.
Serves: Makes 2 large cups of tea.

Ingredients

650ml Milk
2 Tea Bags
3 teaspoons Sugar
5 Green Cardamoms, crushed (I wrap mine in a paper towel and bash)

Throw everything in:
Take a deep, heavy-bottomed saucepan and add in all the ingredients.

Cook:
Put the pan over a medium-high heat and stir. Let the tea cook until it comes to a boil. Then, turn the heat right down and let it cook for at least 5 minutes. After this, bring it up to a boil a few times until you're happy. Some people like to do this to increase the frothiness and flavour of the tea. You can use a ladle to froth the tea up as well.

Serve:
Squeeze out the tea bags. Pour the tea (from a height for more bubbles) through a strainer into a teapot or cups. Serve immediately.

Keep me in your duas please, and enjoy your Pakistani tea!

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!


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