Bhaskar
01-26-2008, 10:10 AM
When I moved to America, one of the things that got under my skin was the term "Chai tea." Chai is the Indian word for tea, so not only was it a silly redundancy, but when you odered Chai tea what you got was nothing remotely close to chai! So here's the real thing, spices and all!
Ingredients:
1 tsp loose black tea leaves (you can use tea bags instead)
1 inch fresh ginger, chopped fine (you can vary the quantity according to your preference - I like lots of ginger. You can also use ginger powder if you don't have fresh ginger, but it doesn't give the same flavor.)
1-2 cloves powdered
1 peppercorn ground (optional)
1/4 tsp cinnamon powdered (without the sweetening)
2-3 pods cardomom powdered (you can get this from most health food stores or Indian/Pakistani grocers)
1-2 spoons sugar
Milk
Procedure:
1. Start heating 1 cup of water in a saucepan.
2. Add the ginger and other spices and wait for it to come to a boil.
3. Add tea leaves an let it boil about a minute longer on low heat(adjust time depending on how strong you want the tea). Watch the pot - it may boil over.
4. Add a little bit of milk - about 1/6 cup or so depending on your taste. I personally prefer to use a little less water and add lots of milk. You can also use milk at the start and leave out the water altogether.
5. Turn off the heat and strain the tea into a cup.
6. Stir in the sugar.
7. Serve hot with pakodas or any other light and spicy snack.
I sometimes make variations in the herbs and spices, using just mint leaves, or lemongrass and ginger, etc. Feel free to experiment and let me know if you find something good!
Ingredients:
1 tsp loose black tea leaves (you can use tea bags instead)
1 inch fresh ginger, chopped fine (you can vary the quantity according to your preference - I like lots of ginger. You can also use ginger powder if you don't have fresh ginger, but it doesn't give the same flavor.)
1-2 cloves powdered
1 peppercorn ground (optional)
1/4 tsp cinnamon powdered (without the sweetening)
2-3 pods cardomom powdered (you can get this from most health food stores or Indian/Pakistani grocers)
1-2 spoons sugar
Milk
Procedure:
1. Start heating 1 cup of water in a saucepan.
2. Add the ginger and other spices and wait for it to come to a boil.
3. Add tea leaves an let it boil about a minute longer on low heat(adjust time depending on how strong you want the tea). Watch the pot - it may boil over.
4. Add a little bit of milk - about 1/6 cup or so depending on your taste. I personally prefer to use a little less water and add lots of milk. You can also use milk at the start and leave out the water altogether.
5. Turn off the heat and strain the tea into a cup.
6. Stir in the sugar.
7. Serve hot with pakodas or any other light and spicy snack.
I sometimes make variations in the herbs and spices, using just mint leaves, or lemongrass and ginger, etc. Feel free to experiment and let me know if you find something good!