Doodh Patti Chai Recipe

Name: Doodh Patti Chai
Prep time: 2 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 14 min
Cuisine: Pakistani
Ingredients: 2 cups Milk, full-fat; ½ cup Water; 2 tsp Black tea leaves (patti), loose black tea, heaped; 1 tbsp Sugar, adjust to taste; 2 pods Green cardamom (choti elaichi), lightly crushed

دودھ پتی چائے بنانے کا طریقہ

Strong dhaba-style doodh patti: tea leaves boiled straight in milk with a little water and cardamom, then pulled and simmered until deep caramel and creamy.

Prep

2 min

Cook

12 min

Total

14 min

Serves

Difficulty

Easy

Spice

Mild

Doodh patti is the chai of Pakistani dhabas and truck stops: no separate kettle, just loose black tea boiled in mostly milk until it turns a rich caramel colour. The long boil and repeated lifting of the ladle, which aerates it, are what give the thick, strong flavour that is quite different from milk added to brewed tea.

Ingredients

2 servings

For 2 servings

Cups & chamachGrams & ml

2 cups Milk, full-fat
½ cup Water
2 tsp Black tea leaves (patti), loose black tea, heaped
1 tbsp Sugar, adjust to taste
2 pods Green cardamom (choti elaichi), lightly crushed (optional)

Method

Put the water, tea leaves and cardamom in a saucepan and boil on medium heat until the water turns dark.
⏱ 2 min
Add the milk and sugar and bring to a rolling boil, watching closely so it does not boil over.
⏱ 3 min
Turn the heat to low and simmer, lifting ladlefuls high and pouring them back every minute or so, until the chai is a deep caramel colour and slightly thickened.
⏱ 6 min
Strain into cups and serve very hot.

Tips for the best result

A mix of granulated and dust (CTC) tea, which most Pakistani blends already are, gives the strongest colour.
For a thicker chai, simmer a few minutes longer or add a spoon of milk powder.

Common mistakes

Adding the leaves to cold milk and boiling just once. The tea stays pale and tastes milky, not strong.
Boiling on high the whole time. The milk catches on the bottom and the chai tastes burnt.

How to serve

Serve with rusks, samosas, pakoras or a bun kabab.

Storing and reheating

Chai is best made fresh. Leftover chai can be kept in the fridge for a day and reheated, but it turns stronger and slightly bitter.

Nutrition and cost

Worked out from the ingredients, not measured in a lab. Treat both as a rough guide.

Per serving Estimate

Calories: 175kcal
Protein: 8g
Fat: 8g
Carbs: 18g
Fibre: 0g
Sodium: 100mg

Estimated from USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy (April 2018), public domain values for the raw ingredients (99% of the recipe by weight had data). Deep-frying oil is counted at 20%; bones and water lost in cooking are not subtracted, so bone-in and fried dishes can read high. Not medical advice. Method

Cost per servingEstimate

≈ Rs 60

Whole dish ≈ Rs 120 · 100% of ingredients by weight priced

Prices in

From the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics weekly SPI, week ended 29 Oct 2026. Spices, herbs and some vegetables are not in the SPI and are left out unless you add your price, so the real cost is a little higher. How this works

Doodh Patti Chai: questions people ask

What is the difference between doodh patti and normal chai?

Normal chai is brewed in water with milk added; doodh patti is brewed mostly in milk with little or no water, so it is thicker, creamier and stronger.

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