Sabir Kashmiri Tea, Lucknow

This is Lucknow's take on noon chai.

I haven't had noon chai in Kashmir, but I'm sure that this (while called Kashmiri chai) isn't quite that. Flavours don't travel that far without changing. But whatever it is, it tastes amazing. Lucknow has magical food hands, especially in the chowk area.

This chai is one of the most unconventional things I've had. Some of my friends absolutely hated it; some loved it. If you have a knack for trying different flavours, I think you will like it.

How It's Made

There's a Kashmiri chai boiler called a samavar, in which a pink tea has been boiling for some time: noon chai takes longer than regular chai to prepare, and requires a pinch of baking soda to bring out the pink colour. (I've tried making it at home.)

This isn't the normal chai we usually have in north India. It has a slightly salty taste. I've had similar chai in places with a north-east India influence.

The Pyaala

The noon chai pyaala at Sabir's: pink tea with khari pieces and malai, eaten like a dish rather than sipped

While you can have a glass of just noon chai, the pyaala is the most popular thing, and I think it's worth trying.

What the pyaala includes: piping hot noon chai, then the person there takes a khari (a puff biscuit with nothing inside, usually served as an accompaniment to tea in India), breaks it into many pieces, and puts them inside the tea. After doing that, he takes some fluffy malai (cream from milk) and adds it on top.

You don't drink this chai. You eat it. The khari is crispy at first and then softens with time, becoming part of the whole dish.

Sabir's stall in the evening, with the samavar boiling in the background

He also sells kala gajar ka halwa, available only in winters and exclusive to Lucknow.

This particular stall, the most popular one, starts selling in the evening and runs till after midnight. Other shops sell noon chai throughout the day, but this one is the evening experience.

It's not a classic place, and it doesn't try to be. It's just a different type of chai that you can experience in Lucknow. I personally liked it too much.

Part of the Iconic Chai Stops of India series.