Ramblings in the rain » Excellent Chai Tea Recipe

Hi there, long since last update.

Today, or tonight, I’m presenting my own homemade chai recipe, inspired by countless recipes I’ve read online.

Chai Tea, or just Chai, is an Indian tea, originally meant as a spiritual drink for the Buddhists Monks living in the northern parts of India. In modern southern asia Chai just means loose leaves of tea in a cup with water and milk, and they call the recipe presented here as Masala Chai. This means spiced Chai, and has a full body of relaxing spices combined with warm milk, loosing up those tense muscles in your neck and back before you go to sleep.

That’s right, this is not something you drink in the morning, this is consumed right before bedtime only

I recommend whole spices only for the most full and strong taste, but for the dry spices you could with a pre-grind version in case you do not have a mortar. I would never recommend powdered ginger, it is so easy to cut up; And cheap too! I’ve never actually found whole cardamom pods, so this recipe uses powdered from glass. Please excuse my double standards.

Utilities

Mortar
Cooking pot
Two large cups
A small sieve
Grater for the nutmeg

Ingredients, makes two large cups.

Two large cups of milk, whole or regular.
A small teaspoon of aniseseed
One whole cinnamonstick, the size you get in Black Boy bags. (3-4cm)
A teaspoon of cardamom
5-8 whole cloves
A small teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg
A teaspoon of freshly chopped ginger
A teaspoon of black, or white, pepper
Two teaspoons of good black tea.
Two-Three teaspoons of plain sugar. This is needed to bring out the flavours of the spices.

If your not too keen on milk, substitute with water and add milk as you like. You can skip the milk, or even use soymilk. Use your fingers to coarsely break up the cinnamon, then add all the other spices. Grate the nutmeg, don’t try to cut or crush it. Hold of the the sugar and tea, they are for later.

The effect of combining nutmeg and ginger is said to be mildly intoxicating, too much nutmeg is actually dangerous (as is cinnamon, but not nearly as much!). 2-3grams of nutmeg is deadly, that’s about one whole nut so don’t worry.
When all the spices are grounded, apart from the sugar, bring up the milk (or water) to an almost boil. Add the spices and the sugar and give it a stir. Let it rest without heat for 10 minutes. Add the tea, and heat it yet again to an almost boil. After 3-4 minutes turn of the heat, and strain the milk into cups. The Chai should now have a slightly brownish color. Some spices will inevitably get into the cups, but don’t worry, it’s a sign of freshly made Chai! Good luck!