Chai haleeb, tea with milk, is the everyday hot drink of Bahraini homes. Before boxed cereals and jams reached the Gulf, a glass of sweet milk tea with tanoor bread was breakfast and supper for many families, and it is still poured from morning to night, served to guests and carried out to the majlis on trays. Black tea is boiled hard with spices, then simmered with milk, often evaporated milk, until rich and creamy. Bahraini cooks like to add cardamom and saffron; some add a little ginger or a dried rose bud.

It sits close to karak, the strong spiced tea of Gulf roadside cafés, but at home it is gentler and more perfumed. On a race night at Sakhir, which starts after sunset, a glass of it is the right fuel for the closing laps.

The tea

Ingredients

• 6 green cardamom pods
• 2 cups (480 ml) water
• 2 tablespoons loose strong black tea
• 1 small slice fresh ginger
• 1 pinch (about 10 threads) saffron
• 1 1/2 cups (360 ml) evaporated milk
• 3 to 4 tablespoons sugar

Method

1. Crush the cardamom pods lightly in the mortar or with the flat of a knife so they split open.
2. Put the water, cardamom, ginger and tea in the saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil over medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes.
3. Add the evaporated milk, saffron and sugar. Bring back to a boil, watching closely. As soon as the foam rises toward the rim, lift the pan off the heat for a few seconds, then return it. Do this three times, then simmer 2 minutes more.
4. Pour through the strainer into glasses.

More from Bahrain