I was recently introduced to Kashmiri Pink Chai and was immediately hooked.

It is high in nutrients and contains milk, cream, nuts, and spices. Because of its nutritional value, some people refer to it as healthy. So it's no surprise that Kashmiri chai became a favourite drink, even for me too. 😉

Amazon has loose kashmiri tea leaves for sale. It is a type of green tea leaf that, when cooked in a specific way, causes a chemical reaction that transforms the tea from light brown to a lovely dusky pink.

I make a large batch of the pink tea and freeze it. When we crave kashmiri chai, we simply defrost the amount we require and add some milk to serve. Tadaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.. !!

Ingredients:

• 8 whole green cardamom pods
• 1 cup room temperature water
• 2 tablespoons kashmiri tea leaves.
• 3 whole star anises
• 3 whole cloves
• 1 whole cinnamon sticks
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup Ice water
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1 tablespoons granulated sugar, to taste.
• 1/4teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon unsalted raw pistachios and almonds crushed with a mortar and pestle.

Preparation Method:

1. Add the cardamom pods to a mortar and crush with a pestle into small pieces.
2. Add the room temperature water, Kashmiri tea leaves, crushed cardamom, star anise pods, cloves, and cinnamon sticks to a small saucepan. 
    
3. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, add the baking soda (it will fizz and bubble) and reduce the heat to medium. 
4. While boiling, use a ladle to scoop some liquid from the pot and pour it back in from as high as you can without splattering (this helps give the tea its pink hue).
    
5. Continue until the liquid is reduced by half, 5 - 7 minutes.
6. Add the ice water and continue to cook for another 2 minutes.
7. Add the milk, sugar, and salt and bring to a gentle simmer. Once simmering, remove the pot from the heat and leave for 3 minutes.
8. Strain the chai through a fine-mesh sieve into a heatproof spouted measuring cup, making sure to squeeze out all the liquid. Discard the solids.
9. Divide the chai between 3 mugs and top with the crushed pistachios and almonds. Serve immediately.!