Vital Kashmiri Tea Jar 220g

Description

Noon chai, also called pink chai or sheer chai, is a Kashmiri salt tea and one of the few teas in the world that changes colour as part of the recipe. The pink comes from a chemical reaction between the leaf and a pinch of bicarbonate of soda under prolonged boiling, not from any colouring, and it only works with a leaf grown and processed for it.

The method takes patience. Boil the leaf hard in a little water with a pinch of bicarbonate for half an hour or more, whisking and aerating as it reduces to a dark red concentrate. Shock it with cold water, then add milk and a pinch of salt, and the colour turns. Serve it with crushed pistachio or almond on top. Sugar instead of salt is common in Pakistani households and equally correct.

Can I use this leaf for qahwa? No. Qahwa uses a plain green leaf steeped gently with cardamom and saffron. This leaf is processed for long boiling and tastes wrong brewed that way.

Why did my noon chai come out brown instead of pink? Almost always not enough boiling, not enough aeration, or no bicarbonate. The colour develops only after a long hard reduction.

For qahwa you want the Ali Baba qahwa leaf instead, and the whole tea selection holds the black teas. Vegetarian. Screw the lid back on straight after each spoon, because tea in a half shut jar goes flat within weeks. Order online at Panjab Supermarket for same-day delivery across Nieuwegein, Utrecht, Leidsche Rijn, Vleuten, Maarssen, Zeist, Bunnik, IJsselstein, Vianen, and Culemborg. Free delivery on orders over 49 euros.