How to make Kashmiri chai and the secret to its pink hue

Maryam Jillani's Kashmiri chai recipe explains that a cold-water shock or a baking soda shortcut produces the tea's bright pink color, and that a prepared concentrate can be refrigerated for up to a month.

Kashmiri chai is a tea known for its distinctive pink color and is traditionally served at winter gatherings and weddings. This article reprints Maryam Jillani's recipe from her cookbook Pakistan: Recipes and Stories from Home Kitchens, Restaurants, and Roadside Stands. The recipe describes a traditional technique of shocking brewed tea with cold water and aerating it until the leaves turn burgundy, and it notes that many home cooks use baking soda as a shortcut to speed the color change. It also recommends keeping a batch of the strained concentrate in the refrigerator for later use. Key details: - The recipe is excerpted from Maryam Jillani's cookbook Pakistan and is reprinted with permission. - Initial brewing calls for 2 cups (480 ml) of ice-cold water, tea leaves, cardamom pods, optional star anise, and salt, simmered until the liquid reduces by half (about 15 minutes). - Baking soda is stirred in until it foams, and the tea is aerated (pouring from a height) for about 3 minutes until the color begins to change, then 2 more cups (480 ml) of ice-cold water are added and the mixture is cooked while continuing to aerate until a deep burgundy hue forms. - The strained concentrate yields roughly 2 cups (480 ml); to serve, the concentrate is brought to a gentle simmer with milk, sweetened to taste, and may be topped with pistachios. - The concentrate can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to a month. Summary: The recipe outlines both a traditional method and a baking-soda shortcut to develop Kashmiri chai's bright pink color and provides a concentrate intended for storage and later serving. The article specifies yield and storage guidance and describes finishing the tea by warming the strained concentrate with milk and sweetening before serving.