PO CHA (BUTTER TEA)

The winter mornings in Kolkata remind me of my trip in Tawang this October. No, not because of the chilly weather, as it was way more cooler up there, but because of the calmness in the surroundings. It was the first day of our trip in Tawang. We had to leave early in the morning so that we do not encounter any harsh weather. The temperature was almost drooping down to 5 or 6 degree Celsius. We hired a Sumo and departed for the sightseeing tour. Our first stop was at the THUKJE CHOELING ANI GOMPA. It is a beautiful nunnery with almost 50 nuns residing there. This nunnery is located at a distance of 5 km from the town of Tawang on a beautiful hilltop. The vie from the nunnery is amazing. The calm and serene atmosphere of the nunnery will make you fall in love with that place. 

Thukje Choeling Ani Gompa

One of the nuns invited us over to have some tea. We humbly said no, as we just had tea before we left our hotel. Our driver smiled and said to my Baba," Bhaishahab, you would not get this tea in Kolkata!" So, we decided to try the tea as that was a special tea. The nun served us the tea in cups and gave a sweet smile. After taking the first sip of the tea, I felt something salty in my tongue. Yes, it was not like the tea we have in home. It was a salty one. The tea tasted like a soup and had a completely unexpected flavor.

Butter tea or Po Cha is a common drink in the north eastern states of India. The original tradition of having butter tea hails from Tibet and now it is popular in all the Buddhist provinces. Having butter tea has a lot of benefits. It helps them to stay warm and provides them with lot of energy in the cold days. The traditional way of preparing butter tea is really difficult. In the traditional system, they use the local tea leaves for this beverage. Normally, most of the Indians have milk and other milk products derived from the cows. But here, the milk and butter are derived from the female yaks. They have special butter tea churns for churning the butter in the tea liquor. 

Here, on INTERNATIONAL TEA DAY,  I am sharing the easy recipe of how you may make Po Cha or Butter tea at home. This is the perfect beverage that you can have in the winter mornings.

Butter tea served to us by the nun

Recipe:

Serves 2

What you need?

1 cup Butter

1/ cup Milk

3 cups Water

1/2 tsp Salt

3 tsp Black tea

How to make it?

   

• Heat water in a sauce pan and add the tea to it. Boil them until the liquor is ready and the water becomes black in color.
• Pour the milk it.
• Add the salt to it and then put off the flame. Strain the liquid in a vessel. 
• Take butter in a bowl and then pour the tea in it. Blend it well using a hand blender until the total tea is mixed properly. 
• Serve them in cups or bowls while hot. 

P.S:

• You need to serve this tea while hot.
• You can enjoy this tea in winter in order to stay warm.