Want a healthy snack/drink, try this spicy garbanzo drink.
What is better than wrapping your fingers around a hot cup of tea in the harsh winter weather?, or in hot summer, actually I do not care what the weather is I enjoy tea every single day no matter what.
And with this super aromatic tea, that has a lot of Middle Eastern spices, you will want nothing but a cozy couch.
This is one of the most popular Middle Eastern tea, and it is most common in the Gulf area specially in Yemen and Emirates, I’ve heard that this is sold by street vendors in every corner in the U.A.E.
Have you ever visited U.A.E before? I would love to go there one day. I’ve heard it is one of the most charming and expensive countries in the Middle East.
One that you’ll go bankrupt if you visit, because you’ll want to buy everything and the quality of the good there is even better than here in the US.
Women like to buy gold when they go the gulf area, gold there is of a very high quality and the jewelry craftsmanship is beyond this world.
I remember when I was like 11 years old, we went to a wedding party in KSA. In those parties women and men are separated meaning, women are celebrating in a different place than men with their own banquet and with the bride among them.
When I stepped in there, I’ve found lots of women dressed up to the finest and latest fashion, and almost covered in shiny gold which was a scene I’m not used to ^o^. At that time, I was not very much interested in gold, so I wonder what will I do now if I stepped in a wedding like this …. poor hubby \(^o^)/.
Back to the real world, tea in the Middle East, specially black tea, is like coffee in the US. You can always find it in each and every household, no one can survive without tea specially mint tea. Women and men, poor or rich, single, married or with children, young, old and even children drink tea there. It is something cultural , and this is one of the tastiest tea recipes I’ve ever had.
What is Spiced Tea?
Generally speaking, spiced it is any kind of tea boiled or steeped with aromatic spices. Either for health issues or just for the sake of it, but there are so many types of spiced tea in this world. Being a tea advocate, it is a shame that I’ve only tried a few.
How do you make healthy spiced tea recipe?
This recipe can be easily turned healthier or to suite any health issues. If you want it dairy free just replace evaporated milk with the plant based milk of your choice, I like cashew milk the most. Make a sugar free version by skipping sugar or adding any sugar substitute you like.
How do you make homemade spiced tea?
With a handful of ingredients you are up to a life time experience…. no kidding. So let me show you:
- In a pot add water, tea, spices and sugar if using.
- Stir to combine and bring to a boil.
- Add evaporated milk, reduce heat to low and let it simmer for 8-10 minutes.
And that’s it… seriously. This recipe can be easily customized, meaning that you choose to put all or part, as little or more of the spices, but cardamom is a must.
I was not sure how will the spices appeal to my taste, so I’ve just added cardamoms and whole cloves. If you want more flavors, you are welcome to add ground nutmeg, cinnamon and some people add saffron which is next on my list for this recipe. This is a very aromatic drink that makes you feel warm, cozy and relaxed, even my 5 years old said it was super delicious.
One last word, I’ve added 3Tbs of sugar and this recipe yielded a total of 16oz, so it was super sweet for us, so when I made it again, I’ve reduced the sugar to 1Tbs.
I hope you’ll like this recipe and please if you make this recipe, snap a pic and hashtag it #amiraspantry — I love to see your creations on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter!
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Middle East spiced tea
Ingredients
- 2 c of water.
- 2 tea bags = 2 tsp loose tea.
- 5 oz evaporated unsweetened milk.
- Sugar to taste- be aware that this recipe yields 16oz of spiced tea.
- 8 cardamom pods.
Use any or all of the following
- 4-5 whole cloves.
- 1/8 tsp . cinnamon - optional.
- 1/8 tsp . nutmeg - optional.
Instructions
- In a pot, or tea pot, add water, tea bags and sugar. Stir to combine.
- Add the spices and bring to a boil.
- Add milk, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Strain, pour in serving cups.
- Serve hot.
- Enjoy.
This is very much like the chai I drink when in India.
Lovely.
Thanks Amira for your karak tea recipe. I haven’t had this tea since we left Qatar two years ago. All the locals bring thermoses of it to work everyday and leave it out in the majlis for guests and it’s a breakfast staple on any table there but I’d never made it myself. Do you have any idea how to make the Khaleeji ghawa coffee spice mix at home and then how to brew it? The one drank with dates….That’s a recipe I’d love to have but I’m wondering about the ingredient availability……
Crystal, I am happy you liked this recipe.. it is actually one of my favorite. I’ve never tried making the “Arabic coffee” mix before, I usually ask someone going to the KSA to being me some. But this is really going to be a lovely project to work on, will be trying to get a hold of a good recipe. I love it so much and I bet it will need some green coffee..
Hi, I just made this for the 3rd time in 2 weeks – it was a MASSIVE hit in our house! It has been cold here where I live and this kind of tea is so warming and delicious.
Thank you so much Ali for your feedback.Great to know that you liked it.
I appreciate your tea style. jazaki Allah bi khair
Thank you ♥.