Karak Chai Recipe
This sweet, rich Karak Chai is super popular in Dubai, UAE, where my husband grew up. He came back from a recent trip OBSESSED with testing this Karak tea recipe to perfection for you.
Servings: 1
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 2 tbsp black tea emptied from tea bags if you don't have loose tea
- 5 green cardamom pods or 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
- a few strands of saffron optional
- ½ cup evaporated milk
- 1 tbsp sugar or to taste
Instructions
- Bring water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Add the tea, cardamom and saffron. Reduce heat to a simmer and let the tea infuse for 1 minute.
- Add the evaporated milk and let the tea continue to steep over the lowest heat setting for 5 minutes. It shouldn't boil again.
- Strain tea through a sieve into a cup, pressing down on the solids to extract as much tea as possible. Stir in sugar and enjoy.
Notes
- Sugar: It may seem like a lot of sugar, but it's a strong tea that will taste bitter or coarse without enough sweetness to balance it out. As an avid chai drinker, sometime I'll use monkfruit extract as a sugar substitute. It's the only non-sugar sweetener I've found that doesn't have an aftertaste.
- Ground cardamom: can be easier to find than cardamom pods. Feel free to swap it in, but start with just 1/4 tsp as the flavor can be much more intense. Adjust according to your preference; you can always add more if you like it stronger.
- Saffron: is necessary for a truly authentic Karak Chai, but it is pricey and can be hard to find in North America. Feel free to leave it out and enjoy the cardamom flavor on its own, or add a 1/4 tsp of vanilla extract to include another warm flavor.
Nutrition
Calories: 261kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 37mg | Sodium: 150mg | Potassium: 510mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 28g | Vitamin A: 305IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 379mg | Iron: 2mg