Noon Chai

Popularly dubbed heaven on earth due to its insurmountable natural beauty, Kashmir is home to a distinctive culinary heritage. A food enthusiast willing to search beyond the Wazwan and Kahwa will discover a unique hidden gem of Kashmir—Noon Chai.

Surprisingly, Kashmiris are true tea connoisseurs, and the popular hot beverage is a daily must. Though vastly popular in every Kashmiri household, the Noon Chai has never received much fame outside the picturesque valley owing to its rather atypical taste. This salty tea, served at breakfast and in the afternoon, is a local favourite because of its excellent digestive properties and acute warming effect.

Popularly dubbed heaven on earth due to its insurmountable natural beauty, Kashmir is home to a distinctive culinary heritage. A food enthusiast willing to search beyond the Wazwan and Kahwa will discover a unique hidden gem of Kashmir—Noon Chai.

Surprisingly, Kashmiris are true tea connoisseurs, and the popular hot beverage is a daily must. Though vastly popular in every Kashmiri household, the Noon Chai has never received much fame outside the picturesque valley owing to its rather atypical taste. This salty tea, served at breakfast and in the afternoon, is a local favourite because of its excellent digestive properties and acute warming effect.

A typical cup of Noon Chai starts by brewing green gunpowder tea in sodium bicarbonate, or baking soda as we commonly call it. A subtle chemical reaction lends the brew a blood-red colour. The concoction is then diluted with water, and given the final touch of milk and salt, creating the tea’s characteristic pink colour and salty taste.

Interestingly, the Kashmir Valley cannot grow tea. Since ancient times, China, a famous exponent of tea, would regularly export its produce to Central Asia. Kashmir, at the crossroads of Central and South Asia, was a crucial centre in the tea trade and in the process, got introduced to its favourite beverage. Narratives of the tea tale can be found in the writings of Austrian traveller Charles von Hugel.

As for the preparation itself, it is believed that Noon Chai most likely arrived in Kashmir from Yarkand in Turkestan during the reign of Sultan Sabruddin Shah. The Noon Chai appears to have an uncanny similarity to the Turkic Atkan Chai made with salt, milk, and butter, further supporting this claim. It is also presumed that Muslim expansion across Central Asia has left an indelible mark of Turkic cuisine on most modern countries of the region. For instance, a sweetened version of the Noon Chai, the Qaymak Chai, is popular in Afghanistan.

Despite its tumultuous political reality, Kashmir has managed to maintain its special cuisine, the Noon Chai being one of its most assuring pieces of evidence. This Kashmiri tea finds equal appreciation in both West and East Punjab but as a sweetened variant the Sheer Chai, leaving the unusual salty flavour to the residents of this desiccated land.