Kashmiri Chai

Ingredients

• 6 tbsp Kashmiri Tea Leaves
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/4-1/2 tsp salt
• 5-6 Cardamom Pods
• 1 Badiyan ka Phool (Optional)
• 1 small piece of cinnamon stick (optional)
• 2 cups ice cold water (I mix mine with ice)
• finely chopped pistachios & almonds
• 2/3 cup milk (per serving you make)
• additional minced nuts

Instructions

1. 1

   Add all the ingredients except the ice cold water to a pot with 8 cups of cold tap water.

2. 2

   Bring to a boil, simmer for one hour or until the liquid is halved, it's okay if it reduces a little more but please do cook it down.

3. 3

   Sieve the green tea leaves out.

4. 4

   Now get ready for a work out. Pour the ice cold water from a height into the tea concentrate.

5. 5

   Pour back and forth from bowl to bowl or use a ladle to drop it back into the bowl from a height to aerate the tea. I suggest doing this in your sink or a prepped surface area since it does splash a bit.

6. 6

   After a full 5-8 minutes of doing this the foam the tea produces will take on a rich bodied pink

7. 7

   Bring the tea mix back to a boil, bring to a boil. The "kahwa" is ready.

8. 8

   To make each cup of tea: Take a ladle (about 1/3 of a cup) of the kahwa, bring to a boil, add 2/3 cup milk and a splash of water. At this stage I like to throw in an extra cardamom pod too. Cook for 2-3 minutes and serve topped with a scant spoon of crushed pistachios