members recipes

The origin of Kashmiri tea must be Kashmir as it sounds (I am not exactly sure though). The tea leaves are the same that are used for green tea. They are found in abundance in Himalayan regions (China, Pakistan, Nepal, India, Bhutan) . Following is the recipe of Kashmiri Chai (Chai means Tea in Urdu/Hindi) or generally known as pink tea.

Ingredients
1: water 2 cups
2: Green Tea leaves - 2-3 teaspoons
3 :Salt and/or Sugar (according to your taste)
4: Green cardamoms - 4
5: Milk - 2 cups
6: A pinch of Baking soda or Saffron (It will give pink color to the tea)
7: Crushed dry fruits (Almonds and Pistachios preferably)
8: Cream (optional)

Method
Pour 2 cups water in a pot and make sure that the pot you are using has a broad base. Crush green cardamoms in your hand until seeds come out.
Add both the seeds and shell in the water. Add green tea leaves.
Also, add baking soda or Saffron. Using soda or saffron will give pink color to the tea.
Let the mixture simmer and boil for about 20 minutes until the water is reduced to half.Now add 2 cups of cold water while its boiling,stir the mixtur.After adding water, let it simmer for 5-10 minutes. On the side start boiling the milk (you can add more cardamoms in the milk, if you want) .Keep stiring the mixture
Add the tea mixture to the milk. Also, add sugar and salt or only salt or only sugar. Let it boil again. The more you boil, the stronger the tea will be.now finally pour the tea in cups and add crushed dry fruits and enjoy.