Karak Chai is a strong tea made in Qatar. I made it with dairy milk back in 2019, but, as I stopped drinking dairy milk last year, I thought I should update the posts to reflect that change. The vegan version is delicious, well worth trying.
Karak Chai is a very popular drink and it can be bought in coffee shops or from street vendors too. Unlike a cup of tea as we know it, this one is made with spices and it is also very strong. The tea is boiled for 3 to 5 minutes, making it much more stronger than a standard cup of tea we are used to in the western world.
I’ve seen that there are variations of this kind of tea, using different spices. I’ve used the ones that are most common, making it as close as possible to the original recipe. Otherwise, you can add rose petals and cinnamon. Of course, to have a good cup of tea, you will need very good quality loose tea. We have loose tea for everyday use, as it’s so much better and it’s also a way to cut down on single use plastics. I keep teabags for when I’m away on holiday, as it can be a bit of a hassle to get loose tea with me.
Nature’s Charm evaporated milk is a very good vegan version for evaporated milk.
Ingredients for 2 cups of Karak Chai:
– 2 heaped tsp of good quality loose Black Tea
– 2 heaped tsp of sugar
– 3-4 pods of cardamom
– 3 strings of saffron
– 6 tsp Nature’s Charm evaporated milk
Bring to boil 600ml water in a saucepan. Add the loose tea, the sugar, and the spices and boil at medium heat. I boiled my tea for 3 minutes, but you can boil it for up to 5 minutes, depending on your taste. If it is the first time you are making this, keep it on the hob for 3 minutes.
Remove from the hob, strain the tea, and add the evaporated milk. Your Karak Chai is ready to be enjoyed. If you want to make some biscuits, why not try Chaclama, Arabic coconut biscuits made with condensed milk.
I always drink tea pure, have never had it with spices and milk. Wish I could have a sip!
I love chai-spiced tea but usually make it from already-blended tea bags. It would be a treat to make it from scratch at home. Thank you for the recipe!
haha the name reminds me of a advertisement. chai is love. i can’t imagine my day without having a cup of karak chai 🙂
Hmmm. I love tea but haven’t tried this one yet.
I’ve enjoyed the pre-made chai blends I’ve had in the past, but never tried making my own. Do you not use cinnamon? This sounds like a good way to use my evaporated coconut milk.
There was a time when I always drank tea rather than coffee and I loved buying loose tea.
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I use cinnamon too, depending on what I fancy. That’s the great thing of having loose tea, the possibilities are endless. I will share another recipe today with evaporated milk, one that I made a few years ago with dairy milk, now veganized.