Two mugs of karak chai on a plate with cinnamon sticks and a bowl of cardamom pods

Karak chai

Name: Karak chai
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 10 min
Yield: Makes 1 large mug or two smaller glasses
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 200ml full-fat milk; 2 tsp sugar more or less to your taste; ¼ tsp ground ginger; ¼ tsp ground cinnamon; ¼ tsp ground cardamom; ¼ tsp finely ground black pepper; pinch of ground nutmeg; 1 tea bag assam or english breakfast; 2 tbsp single cream (optional)

Urvashi Roe

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Makes 1 large mug or two smaller glasses

Easy

Prep: 5 mins

Cook: 5 mins

A star rating of 5 out of 5.12 ratingsRate

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Make this karak chai recipe with warming spices to kick-start your day. It is perfect first thing in the morning or enjoyed with a biscuit for afternoon tea

Gluten free

Low salt

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Make this karak chai, then check out our masala chai, turmeric chai tea, chai latte and more afternoon tea recipes. Check out our best chai recipes for more.

Recipe author Urvashi Roe says: “Making chai is a pastime. Or ‘time-pass’ as we say in my family. It’s always the first thing to get started as soon as friends or family walk in through the door. When the doorbell rang, it was my job to quickly tot up how many people the chai was for and then hurry into the kitchen to make it. However, for my father, making chai is a ritual. Every morning after he has done his prayers, he makes his karak chai – strong tea with warming spices to fire up the body and kick-start the day. It was always done in solitude and I wouldn’t dare enter the kitchen until he was done. When I heard the slurping, I knew it was safe to enter.”

Urvashi’s book Biting Biting is available in all good bookstores and online. Follow Urvashi on Twitter and Instagram @UrvashiRoe.

Karak chai recipe

Ingredients

Nutrition

200ml full-fat milk
2 tsp sugar

more or less to your taste
¼ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cardamom
¼ tsp finely ground black pepper
pinch of ground nutmeg
1 tea bag

assam or english breakfast
2 tbsp single cream

(optional)

Nutrition: per serving

kcal83
fat3.7g
saturates2.4g
carbs8.6g
sugars8.5g
fibre0.4g
protein3.5g
salt0.1g

low

Method

step 1

Pour the milk and 200ml of water into a pan, and warm over a gentle heat until it just starts to simmer. Add the sugar and spices, then whisk gently to mix well.
step 2

Add the teabag and keep stirring or whisking gently until the milk starts to thicken ever so slightly. You need to keep an eye on it the whole time, otherwise the milk may boil over. The darker the colour, the more ‘karak’ (or strong) your chai will be, so do remove the teabag to suit your preference.
step 3

Just as the milk starts to rise a little in the pan, turn off the heat and stir in the cream, if using, for a creamier texture. Keep stirring as the chai cools to prevent a skin forming, then pour into a large mug or two glasses. Slurp it while it’s hot!

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Authors

Urvashi Roe profile image

Urvashi Roe

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A star rating of 5 out of 5.12 ratings

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