Doodh Patti wali Chai, the chai served by every Pakistani dhaba, most often in slightly chipped cups, is a rich, comforting, mellow beverage. Read on to see how to brew your perfect cup with both teabags and loose leaf tea!
The people who have made my popular Kashmiri Chai and Phitti Hui Coffee know that when it comes to desi beverages I am not messing around. I test, retest, retest some more and find friends who are willing to as well before posting or making any edits. Why? Because I know these drinks are more than the caffeine that wakes you up.
While a black coffee is the drink that wakes me up chai is good for my soul. This recipe is one I have shared with many in my Instagram family who have tested it and loved it.
Before I proceed, repeat after me: Doodh Patti, literally translated as, Milk and (Tea) Leaves, starts with Milk. It MUST start with milk. If the tea you are looking to recreate starts with tea leaves and water then I am going to have it here for your next week!
Doodh Patti vs Masala Chai & Chai Karak
I hadn't heard of Masala Chai growing up in Karachi. I knew of three kinds of tea - the kind where you steep a teabag and add some milk, the stovetop cook version, and doodh patti.
Doodth patti's flavour profile is rich, mellow, almost sweet even when it isn't sweetened.
It does not have the assertiveness of the Masala Chais that I discovered when I got to Canada or the sweet strength of the Chai Karak that Middle Eastern restaurants often serve. Masala Chais are often flavoured with cloves, ginger, and other spices. Chai Karak seems to be sweeter and more intensely spiced.
I enjoy them all, but Doodh Patti and memories of drinking it from chipped mugs in over stuffed cars, are my favourite.
Teabag or Tea leaves: What's better?
Purists will tell you it's tea leaves. I will tell you do what's convenient. I do find that teabags are often milder in flavour so I like to use 3 teabags for 2 cups of cup. For loose leaf tea 1.5 tbsp of tea leaves gives rich chai flavour, but for stronger tea you can increase it to 2 tbsp.
Ingredients in Doodh Patti
The ingredients are straightforward
- Milk - I use whole
- Cardamom
- Cinnamon
- Tea Leaves or Tea Bag
- Sugar for sweetening
The addition of cinnamon is not typical. However, I find that the tiniest piece plays up this teas mellow richness and natural sweetness.
To Measure or Not to Measure: getting this Pakistani Chai just right
As said earlier this recipe is one that has been tested and retested by many of you with teabags and tea leaves alike. The one thing that stood out was everyone's reluctance to go searching for measuring cups and spoons to make a cup of chai.
That's why we are keeping it simple and intuitive here - most people drink their tea in mugs. They are trying to make a mug of tea, not a dainty teacup sized serving. I use my mug of the day to measure out milk, filling it one time and then another third of the way. The extra third is to allow extra liquid to cook down to get that creamy texture.
Similarly if you are using looseleaf tea you can take a spoonful. When I measure it out that's approximately half a tbsp. For a strong cup you can ¾ tbsp but at 1 tbsp it lost all of it's sweet charm.
Steps to Making Doodh Patti
1.) Bring your milk, cardamom, and cinnamon to a boil - now in North America, even our full fat milk doesn't have the richness of Pakistani milk so I prefer to only use milk, but in Pakistan they will sometimes use both.
2.) Aerate your milk with a ladle a few times to create a beautiful generous froth.
3.) Add your teabag (1-2) or tea leaves (¾ tbsp) and bring the mixture back to a boil. Place a wooden spoon horizontally across the top of your pot to prevent the milk from boiling over.
4.) Simmer for 4-5 minutes, your milk should have reduced by ⅓ by now.
5.) Strain, sweeten, and serve (or serve, then sweeten).
Let's Skip to the Hard Part: Cleaning the Pot
If you've ever simmered milk for anything you know that the cooked on milk and tea leaves is the worst to clean. Here's how I tackle it when a quick scrub won't do:
1.) Add some baking soda and a squeeze of dish soap in the pot, fill halfway with water.
2.) Bring it to a boil, turn it down to a simmer, scraping the gunk at the bottom off with a wooden spoon.
3.) Take the pot off the stove, let it cool and all it will take now is a quick scrub.
What to Serve at Tea Time?
My friends, I got you. Hop on over to my collection of tea time cake recipes and appetizers/snacks to serve with your fabulous chai.
Hope you make this doodh patti chai and love it! Would love to hear what you think - comment below and rate the recipe by clicking on the number of stars in the number recipe card!
How to Make Doodh Patti
Ingredients
- ½ tbsp tea leaves (a spoonful of tea leaves) or 1 teabag
- 2 cups milk (1 ⅓ of a mug)
- 3 cardamom pods lightly crushed
- v small piece of cinnamon (a cm)
- sugar to taste
Instructions
- Bring the milk, cardamom, and cinnamon to a boil. Tip: leave a heat proof spoon horizontally across the pot to curtail boiling over.
- Once the milk has come to a boil aerate with a ladle a few times to create a beautiful creamy froth.
- Add your tea leaves, bring to a boil
- Aerate a few times with a ladle and keep it at an aggressive simmer for at least 5 minutes. Your mixture should have reduced by at least a third from where you started.
- Strain and serve!
Courtney says
Love this! I was craving the Doodh Patti from our local Turkish coffee shop, which doesn't open until 11 AM. This was perfect and so so warming and cozy.
Sarah Mir says
Absolutely so happy to be able to help! Those chai cravings are real!
Eva says
Hi Sarah, looking forward to trying your recipe out! A friend from Pakistan made this for me years ago, never forgotten it. Thanks for sharing!
Sarah Mir says
HI Eva! I hope you enjoy it! Do let me know what you think!
Anon says
I love this recipe, but can I check the quanity of tea, as I used usually one teabag is normally a teaspoon of loose tea, and one tablespoon is about three teaspoons. I found one teabag made it too milky, perhaps. I'm only learning, so can you please clarify?
Thank you.
Sarah Mir says
Hi there! I totally get what you're saying - at the bottom of the recipe card I say if you are making two cups to use three teabags, but since 1.5 teabag isn't possible for one cup I left it at one teabag, two makes for a very strong cup so its tricky
The cheeky mum says
By the way, seeing as I have no way to edit my previous comment, I meant to add that, I love your recipe and doodh patti chai, is now amongst my favourites. . I will also be making my coffee with this way. No water.
Sarah Mir says
Thank you thank you thank you! I am delighted to hear that!
The cheeky mum says
I was browsing the take away menu of a restaurant, which serves doodh patti chai, a drink I have been wanting to try, but too lazy to make (I am ashamed of my past). I was about to order some mains, just for the tea, when I realised that the delivery fee did not justify that, so, I thought to look up the recipe, as I love tea, being the beverage of my childhood, when my mum used to allow me to use the special, dainty tea cups. Incidentally, I am a teacup user. I do make Indian style tea, (Indian style, only because I can never seem to create a brew that matches that of aunts' and mothers' after dinner at a family gathering, though I have joined the ranks of motherhood. So, my chai, is only Indian 'stye'.) Malaysian/Singaporean style, teh halia, which is ginger tea and the word, style, here is appropriate, because I prefer to use full cream milk, instead of condensed milk. When I found out that Doodh Patti chai was only brewed with milk, instead of a combination of milk and water, I knew I had to find a recipe for this tea. I am so glad to find yours. I thought I had to visit my local spice shop, for exotic ingredients, which means getting out of the house, on a day when I did not want to. I had a long week, with little sleep, so, today, was not going to be the day for stepping out. Prior to yours, I came across a recipe, which used water as well and I was wondering, "What is the difference? My aunties make chai masala that way, too." I tried that recipe, but adding ginger, along with cardamom and ginger. ( What can I say? I love adding ginger and cinnamon to my hot drinks, apart from hot chocolate and those type of beverages, so much so that I make a spiced coffee.) I loved that, too. Then, I decided to do some research, regarding adding water and found yours. If that other recipe made me decide on making Indian style tea, the doodh patti chai way, just adding all the other spices, yours has certainly confirmed that. I just won't tell my aunties.
Living in Bahrain says
I've loved your recipes since I stumbled upon your blog (10 years ago!). I've just never had the chance to say so...I felt compelled to write today because of your 'who makes tea in dainty teacups' statement...i agree! once I told my husband's grandmother (dadi) that i was going to go make myself a cup of tea...and when she saw me return with my "cup" ...she was like 'beta ye...cup nahin hai, ye "mugga" hai!...I also nodded my head along with your reflection on karak and masala chai...I also discovered the first in the UAE and the second in Canada!
Also, I love doodh pathi, and these photos are amazing. They make you want to have a cup now...not good..because I'm fasting today (I probably shouldn't be on a food blog!). I'm excited to try this method of making it. When I used to make it before, I'd leave a teabag in full fat milk on low heat for a looooong while. A large quantity of milk would evaporate. but it would be delicious. I also once fell asleep while waiting for it to evaporate....it all evaporated..and then burnt..the fire alarm did not go off..and I never could use that pot again ...Your recipe seems to be much faster...:D...and safer!
Anyhow, thank you for all your recipes...this is more like an essay..but honestly everything i've tried from your blog has turned out fantastic!
Sarah Mir says
I can't even say how touched I was to read this! It makes me so so very happy to hear from you and I LOVED the story about your dadi! We have always been mug people in my house too, teacups feel pretty but immensely unsatisfying if you know what I mean! Hope you try and love this chai 🙂
Sana Tauqeer says
I tried it and I loved it ! I can’t believe I’ve been using my time-consuming method for all this time. Thank you so much!
Sarah Mir says
That is totally awesome to hear!
Eraj says
Now I want doodh patti N.O.W! ❤️❤️
Sarah Mir says
Well then you know what to do!