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Kazakh milk tea
Black tea with hot milk
Sut shai: strong black tea with hot milk, served from the samovar
Kazakhs drink more tea per person than almost anyone, and at home it is always sut shai: strong black tea, often brewed from Kenyan or Indian leaves, poured into a wide cup (kese) with hot milk or a spoon of cream. The host keeps the cups barely half full and refills them again and again, and a guest turns the cup upside down when they've had enough. In winter in Astana a pinch of salt or a knob of butter may go in. It accompanies baursak, shelpek and every meal. Chef's tip: heat the milk until it just steams and add it to the cup first; scalded, boiled milk gives the tea a cooked taste.
- Total time
- 10 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 3 ¾ cups boiling water
- 4 tsp sugar or sugar cubes (optional)to taste
- 1 pinch salt (optional)the steppe way
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Method
0/4 doneStep 1: Warm a small teapot with hot water and pour it away. Add 2 tbsp strong black tea leaves (Kenyan or Assam) and pour in about 300 ml of the 1 ¼ cups boiling water. Cover and leave to brew for 5 minutes into a very strong, dark-red tea concentrate.
5 minStep 2: Meanwhile heat 1 cup whole milk or single cream in a small pan over a medium heat until it steams and tiny bubbles appear at the edge. Take it off before it boils.
4 minStep 3: Put 2–3 tablespoons of hot milk into each wide cup, add a little tea concentrate, then top up with the rest of the 2 ½ cups boiling water to taste. The tea should be the colour of milky caramel.
Step 4: Fill cups only halfway, so the tea stays hot and you can keep refilling. Add 4 tsp sugar or sugar cubes or 1 pinch salt if you like. A frequent mistake is filling the cup to the brim: in Kazakh custom it hints the guest should leave.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 70 kcal
- Protein
- 3 g
- Carbs
- 6 g
- Fat
- 4 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does kazakh milk tea take?
- About 10 minutes in total: 2 minutes to prepare and 8 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of whole milk or single cream?
- Half double cream, half milk.
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