Tandoori Chai making waves in Hyderabad

Mallepally: A smoky-flavoured, tandoori-styled chai, typically served in Makta or clay glass, that made its entry into the city recently is slowly gaining popularity among denizens.Irani Chai has been a part of city’s culture for centuries, as most denizens have a habit of drinking the chai on a regular basis. However, for the past four months people have been making a beeline in Mallepally to drink a chai that is commonly known as ‘Tandoori Matka Chai.’

The Tandoori Matka Chai offers something new to the chai lovers with a unique flavour and smell. “The chai’s origin can be found in Pakistan. It later entered into India through Pune. From Kerala it entered into Hyderabad for the first time about a few months ago. The chai has also been available at Madhapur in Cyberabad since the last five to six months, but for the first the chai is available in the center of the city in Mallepally, for the chai lovers of both the old and the new city,” said Mohammed Abdul Sohail, an owner of AS Hotel in Mallepally.

Based on the original concept from Pakistan, the owner added his own flavor. He said that during his experiments he wasted around 10 to15 liters of milk to get an accurate flavour with equal quantity ingredients. After trying for around 13 to 15 days, he got a right flavour with a mix of total 8 ingredients like milk, special tea, coffee, elaichi (cardamom), sount (dry ginger), jaiphal (nutmeg) and other secret ingredients are used for making tandoori chai. “I started by selling around 30 to 40 liters milk that made around 300 cups. But now, the business has increased, and I am selling around 600 to 700 cups of chai every day, made with about 50 to 60 liters of milk,” Sohail added.

Tandoori Chai is prepared by making tea with special tea powder. Later, the Chai is cooked in a small copper vessel by mixing other ingredients (if the ingredients were mixed in a big vessel, it may change the taste and turns hard while boiling). After the ingredients are mixed well, the tea becomes semi cooked. This semi- cooked tea is kept in a tea can, and the matka (clay cup) is kept in the Tandoori Bhatti (cylindrical oven) to heat it up. After the matka is heated, the semi-cooked tea is poured in the heated matka, and the tea boils with a smoky flovour. It is then served in a matka, Sohail said. Sohail added that many elderly prefer the chai to the regular one. “After having lunch and dinner at home, I visit the hotel for drinking Tandoori Chai, as it helps in the digestion of food due to its ingredients,” said Mohammed Ansar, a 63-year-old resident.

"I drank different types of chai like Masala Chai, Kashmiri Chai and many more, but drinking Tandoori Chai in a Matka, along with smoky flavor, gives a different taste. It is different from a normal chai. I travel from Toli Chowki to Mallepally for drinking the chai," said Tariq Omer, a chai lover.