Kalladka Tea | K- Tea | Layered Milk Tea
Kalladka Tea or K-Tea as it is fondly known as, is the reason most travellers on National Highway 75 (formerly NH48), make a stopover at Kalladka Junction. The Laxmi Nivas Hotel (KT Hotel) is famous for the way they serve their Tea and Coffee. A transparent glass showing the layers of decoction sitting atop the milk, gently swirling but not mixing into the milk. In true blue local tradition, the glass would sit in the usual little stainless steel bowl and a spoon sitting on top of the glass.
Although one doesn’t need to travel to Kalladka to enjoy this as it is now served in a lot of hotels in Mangalore, it is still out of reach for someone like me who is living outside India. So I decided to give it a try. I do not have the steel bowls/cups to serve this the traditional way, but I do have the Cutting Chai glasses and I used them.
How to make Kalladka Tea
So, here’s my way of doing the Kalladka Tea or K-Tea. Heat milk on medium flame & stir in some sugar (if using) and bring it to a boil. Parallely, add the tea powder into the boiling water and let it steep for about 10 mins. Strain the tea powder to get the decoction. Once the milk boils and rises, beat the milk well by pouring back and forth between two cups until you get a thick layer of foam. The thick layer of foam is essential to trap the decoction. To acheive this, it is important to use full-fat milk and beat it well.
As the milk boils, prepare the serving glass by pouring hot water into it. this helps to keep the glass warm until the tea is ready to be served. Empty the water from the glass and pour in the foamed milk until the glass is 75% full. Spoon in some of the milk foam on top of the milk till the glass is about 90% full.
Then with the help of a spoon, slowly trickle about 25ml of the decoction over the foam. The key is to be very gentle and allow the decoction to trap in the foam. This ensures that the decoction won’t directly mix into the milk but will gently swirl into it. Kalladka Tea is ready. Serve immediately. Pair it with some Sajjige-Bajil. Enjoy!
Kalladka-Tea
Ingredients
- 150 ml Milk, full fat
- 2 tsp Sugar (adjust as per your taste)
- 50 ml Freshly boiled water
- 2 tsp Tea powder
Instructions
- Heat milk on medium flame. Stir in the sugar and bring it to a boil
- Meanwhile, add the tea powder into the boiling water and let it steep for about 10 mins
- Strain the tea powder to get the decoction
- Once the milk boils and rises, beat the milk well by pouring back and forth between two cups until you get a thick layer of foam (see notes)
- Pour the milk into the serving glass till 75% full (see notes)
- Spoon in some of the milk foam on top of the milk till the glass is about 90% full
- Then with the help of a spoon, slowly trickle about 25ml of the decoction over the foam. The key is to be very gentle and allow the decoction to trap in the foam. This ensures that the decoction won't directly mix into the milk but will gently swirl into it.
- Serve immediately!
Notes
- Full fat milk is essential to get a thick layer of foam
- Beating the milk properly is essential to achieve a thick layer of foam
- The thick layer of foam is essential to trap the decoction
- Prepare the serving glass by pouring hot water into it to keep the glass nice and hot
- When ready tos erve, empty the water from the glass and pour in the milk.
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