In India, it's common to find Masala Chai. This is just black tea infused with whole spices. The type used varies by households in India. I will post my own favorite. I hope you'll try it or post the special way you make tea in your home.
Growing up, on the weekends it was always my turn to make chai. The problem was that my parents were always up well before me. I was awakened with a ‘tap, tap, tap’ on our adjoining bedroom wall.
Even as early as 7 a.m. the tapping would come. It would start lightly and then gain in speed and intensity. With each tap I’d grow angrier and often would react simply by pulling my comforter over my head and pretending to sleep. Remaining in the small state of denial even for a few minutes empowered my powerless self. The gig was up as soon as I heard dad's voice. “Anupy. Wake up. Make some chai.”
Chai meant everything in our house, especially to my traditional father. It was the first thing that he wanted to drink on weekend mornings, and the experience was made sweeter by the way it was served. He liked to have his kids bring him his chai in bed. All I wanted to do was sleep for an extra hour. But, I was forced to give up that extra sleep to carry on tradition, respect and that caffeine fix.
Despite my resistance to the thought of serving anyone just because it was demanded of me, I made it my mission to learn how to make the best cup of chai on the planet. So I sprinkled and ground my way through the process. I would begin with a small pot and measure 2 1/2 cups of water (meant for three people). That was poured into the pot and set on medium-high. As I waited for a boil, I'd lightly mash by 2 green cardamom pods, a clove or two and a pinch of fennel seed in a miniature, brass mortre and pestle my mother kept in a drawer to the left side of the stove.
Once ground, the mixture was added to the boiling water. Then, came the teabag – one bag per two cups of water was my general rule. If I felt particularly generous, I’d add half a stick of cinnamon and grate half an inch of ginger and throw them into the dark, boiling concoction. Two minutes of boiling and then would come the milk (whole/2 percent/or skim), just enough to make the concoction slightly creamy. Too much milk and the proportion would be off. As the chai came to a full boil it would have to be watched intently lest it overboil.
Once boiled to the top rim of the pot, I’d turn the stove off, fish out the teabag, and put a lid on the pot to allow the intense heat to truly fuse all the flavors. Then, one more boil and I’d pour it into the respective mugs, along with a teaspoon of honey each.
Anupy's Masala Chai
1 1/2 cups water
1 black tea bag
3 small green cardamom
3 cloves
pinch of fennel seed
1 small piece cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon grated ginger
Milk (whole/2 percent/skim)
1/2 teaspoon honey or Agave nectar (love this stuff)
In a small pot, boil water and add teabag.
Lightly crush cardamom, cloves, and fennel seeds. Add to boiling water along with cinnamon and ginger.
Allow to boil until dark brownish black.
Add milk slowly. I don't like to use too much maybe 2 - 3 tablespoons at the most. Some people like their chai light, so they add more milk.
Watch closely as it comes to a boil. It can overflow very easily at this point.
Once it boils, spoon out the teabag and turn the heat off. Put the lid on and let it sit for about 3 minutes.
Take lid off and let it come to another boil. Serve immediately (have a tea strainer handy to hold over the cup while you pour through it to catch any spices). Add honey.
Mom - Dad - We'll finally be in King of Prussia this weekend. The first thing I'm going to do is make you my Chai!
Folks...if you don't think you can follow this recipe, think again. My 4-year-old Aria makes her own masala for chai. Yes, the girls drink it. I figure a tiny bit of caffeine is better than poisoning their little bodies with soda day in and day out!
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nithya at hungrydesi
January 07, 2010
Lol at your rant against "chai tea." What always gets me is people saying "naan bread." Bread bread? Great blog.