Karak Chai Recipe: Easy, Authentic, and Indulgent Spiced Tea

Introduction to an easy Karak Chai Recipe

Karak chai is a popular Pakistani tea known for its strong flavour and creamy sweet texture. It is very similar to doodh patti, which you could describe as more of a Masala Karak Chai. This karak chai recipe has less whole spices. I am absolutely obsessed with this tea. It’s the tea I crave and it’s the tea I serve my guests at every dinner party. It pairs great with spring rolls or puff pastry samosas.

No breakfast of mine passes without some version of tea. If I make karak chai for breakfast, it’s an extremely good start to the day!

Why make karak chai

When the kids are running riot and my head is spinning, I always carve out 10 minutes for myself where I can sit in a corner quietly drinking tea and bracing myself to reign in the children! This traditional chai recipe is comforting and soothing, and the sweetness definitely gives me a much needed an energy boost to get through the day. It’s also the best tea for winter.

How to make spiced tea

This traditional chair recipe is often made with whole milk or evaporated milk, which gives it a rich and creamy texture. The addition of milk adds a layer of smoothness to the tea, making it indulgent and satisfying. However I like to make my version of this drink with condensed milk. No other milk can beat it! It’s richer, creamier and tastier!

You can make this tea with cardamom, cinnamon, and cloves. There are many variations you can use to spice the chai. The whole spices as with all dishes, add a depth of flavour and a beautiful aroma which you do not get with ground spices or even with the pre made blends. There are many pre made blends you can buy these days. You will find them in any South Asian Supermarket, even in some of the larger Western supermarkets. This is testament to the popularity of this drink. The drink is so simple and easy to make at home, you literally need five ingredients. So there’s really no need to resort to pre made blends.

This chai is brewed with a higher ratio of tea to water compared to regular chai, Kashmiri chai or doodh patti. This results in a stronger flavour. The bold taste appeals to those who enjoy a more intense tea experience.

The tea can be customised to your taste. Some people prefer it sweeter, while others enjoy it strong and less sweet. You can adjust the sweetness and strength of the tea to your personal preference.

History of the Chai

Strong tea drinking cultures emerged from areas like the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces in Pakistan. The name “Karak” comes from the Urdu word for strong or robust, which perfectly describes this gorgeous sweet tea.

This is Pakistani spiced tea is now very popular in the Middle East and South Asia, and it’s often enjoyed during social gatherings or as a street food staple.

Variations to making this Karak Chai Recipe

This tea is traditionally made with strong black tea leaves, my mother in law managed to get them sent over from Pakistan from her sister’s. I alas do not have the same family connections in Pakistan, so I resort to using good old PJ tips or Tetley tea bags. Any English breakfast tea tends to work well with this recipe.

You can vary the recipe further by adding ginger, cinnamon, or cloves for a more complex flavour profile. You could also use evaporated milk instead of condensed milk. Add sugar to your taste if using evaporated milk, I would use 2 tablespoons personally.

My love for Karak Chai

I first discovered karak chai around 2015. My sister told me about a new tea shop that had opened up in Bradford, and how I had to try the tea. So I did…. and I loved it! I was still living down south at that time, so I could only have the this tea on my trips back up north when I visited my family.

When back down south, I would just CRAVE this tea. My husband and I would often travel into East London and try out all the tea shops, even the large tea franchises to try and find a karak chai we liked. Often they had a bitter aftertaste, spice content was too strong. Nothing was quite right. The teas down south just didn’t hit the spot like the one in Bradford. Therefore I decided to experiment and try and make my own karak chai, this recipe is the closest I could get to the beloved Bradford tea.

This soon became the tea that I made when we had guests over, it was perfect for a desi breakfast, afternoon snack or dinner. I do prefer my tea on the sweeter side, so I use condensed milk in the recipe. It also adds a depth of flavour which you can’t get with whole milk or evaporated milk. However if you do not want the tea quite so sweet, substitute the condensed milk for evaporated milk and add sugar to your taste. I would suggest adding 3 teaspoons of sugar to the recipe as stated below. Do not be tempted to use cardamon flavoured evaporated milk I did try this during my experimenting stage, and I was sorely disappointed. The flavour is not nearly as good as using actual cardamon pods.

I have added saffron as optional to my recipe, you can miss this out. However for me, the saffron adds that further layer of indulgence and flavour to the tea. When you see the caramel colour in the pan, you know you are done and ready to drink. If you love saffron in your tea, you should try out my Kashmiri Chai recipe.

Conclusion

I often see in my local tea café, many people of non South Asian decent enjoying a cup of karak chai, which stands testament to this cherished Pakistani tea. My husband and I now compare karak chai’s from different tea shops! However I have recently started trying to reduce my caffeine intake, so I use this recipe more frequently by using decaffeinated tea bags.

The recipe is quick and easy to make. I’d make this tea with pakoras and keema pastries, the perfect afternoon snack for guests!

See my video on Youtube, Instagram or TikTok  to see how to make this Pakistani spiced tea! Try this recipe today and share your results in the comments! And tag us on social media with your Karak Chai creations!