Masala Chai is an Indian tea preparation spiced with cinammon, cardamom & other spices.
There are as many recipes as families living in India. This is one of my favs.
Active Time: 5 min Total Time: 15 min Serves: 6
Step 1: Making the Chai
1 cup homogenized milk
2 1/2 cups water
2 pods (vaina) cardamom
1 large stick cinnamon
1 whole star anise
5 whole cloves
1/2 tsp. pepper corns
1/4 tsp. ground ginger (or lemon/ orange zest if you dont have ginger)
2 pieces dried orange peel (or 1 piece fresh zest)
2 tbsp. sugar
2 bags tea bags, orange pekoe
To start the Chai, combine milk and water in a pot over medium heat. Add cardamom, cinnamon, star anise, clove, whole peppercorns, ground ginger, orange peel, and sugar. Whisk everything together and let it come to a slight boil, then turn down the heat and let it simmer for about 5 minutes. Bring it back up to a boil and stir in teabags. Turn off the heat and let the tea bags steep for about 2 or 3 minutes. Then strain the Chai and serve.
Step 1: Making the Chai
1 cup homogenized milk
2 1/2 cups water
2 pods (vaina) cardamom
1 large stick cinnamon
1 whole star anise
5 whole cloves
1/2 tsp. pepper corns
1/4 tsp. ground ginger (or lemon/ orange zest if you dont have ginger)
2 pieces dried orange peel (or 1 piece fresh zest)
2 tbsp. sugar
2 bags tea bags, orange pekoe
To start the Chai, combine milk and water in a pot over medium heat. Add cardamom, cinnamon, star anise, clove, whole peppercorns, ground ginger, orange peel, and sugar. Whisk everything together and let it come to a slight boil, then turn down the heat and let it simmer for about 5 minutes. Bring it back up to a boil and stir in teabags. Turn off the heat and let the tea bags steep for about 2 or 3 minutes. Then strain the Chai and serve.
I wanted to thank you for posting this recipe! I have been searching high and low for a good masala chai recipe.
ResponderSuprimirHave a great weekend.
I tried for years to make masala chai using the best Assam and Darjeeling teas, and every attempt was a miserable failure. It takes a STRONG tea to stand up to the spices and milk in masala chai.
ResponderSuprimirYou want the mamri-style (CTC, cut-tear-curl, basically this is how they process the tea leaves). The leaves are so tightly curled after processing that the stuff looks like gunpowder. In India this is common knowledge, but here in the USA, people equate loose tea to the "good stuff", expensive teas that, while they brew an excellent cup of tea, do not have the body or strength of character to make it as the base for masala chai. "Mamri" style tea is what goes into tea bags. If you can't find mamri style tea (commonly available at any Indian grocery, some common brands are Brooke Bond Red Label, Taj Mahal, and Tea India), you can use cheap unflavored tea bags instead.
My version of masala chai is pretty simple. I make my masala chai in 4 easy steps, using whole spices - fennel seed, cloves, and cardamom. Other spices could be used but this is my favorite blend. If you use more than 3 or 4 though some of them start to get lost, and the flavor can get sort of "muddy".
1) boil water and spices for 3 mins
2) add milk and return to a rolling boil
3) add tea and simmer on low for no more than 3 mins
4) strain, serve, add sugar to taste
The full recipe is on my blog.
http://barbariansatthekitchengate.blogspot.com/2009/05/masala-chai-indian-railroad-tea.html