masālā chai OH-heyyyy
Hi all! Sorry for the late post! I was dragging booty on Sunday! Justin, our friend Arliss, and myself went to the Latin Food Festival where we ate a shit ton of food. We were basically rolling ourselves home and when we finally got home I passed my fully belly out on the couch. Not to worry though! I am back with a brand new post.
Today I thought I would go traditional and popular with chai which literally translates to tea in english is a very popular drink in India and all over the world.
Chai can be drank at any time of day and is often served in a cup and cooled in a plate in most homes in India. In India this beverage is often served warm and has many variations which include a type of black tea, water, milk and a plethora of spices including ginger, cardamom, and cinnamon.
I grew up on a family masālā chai recipe consisting of water, a pre-made masala blend, fresh ginger, sugar and milk. My mom would make us chai and chili omelet every Sunday while I was growing up. I looked forward to that Sunday morning breakfast. Fast, cheap, simple, delcious.
Below is my recipe for masālā chai. I used a pre-made spice blend, but you could certainly smash up your own cardamom or other spices and mix with loose black tea leaves. This version is iced (it’s hot in San Diego!) but you leave it warm.
Happy Brewing!
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup milk
- 1 tbsp T-plus, masālā tea blend
- 2 tsp fresh ginger
- sugar to taste
- In a small saucepan add water, tea blend, sugar and ginger. Bring to a boil.
- Add milk. Bring to a boil until chai blend comes to the top and creates a top layer. 4-5 minutes.
- Strain tea.
- Serve over ice, or warm.
- Add a cinnamon stick or crush some cardamom pods to get a deeper flavor.
- Some pieces of the masālā may strain into the cup. I think it is yummy, but if you don't like it just run the tea through the strainer again.
- You can purchase the pre-made tea masālā at any Indian Speciality Store.
