Masala Chai

Mohd Aram

Before I set foot in India, the word chai would conjure images of mugs of heavily spiced, milky tea with varying amounts of sweetener. However, upon my arrival in the land of the Ganges, I quickly realized that Indian chai is simply strong milk tea with a cavity inducing amount of sugar. It turns out that what I thought was chai was actually masala chai. Masala translates to spice mixture and comes in all sorts of varieties. 

Some of you might read through this recipe and choose to adapt it: perhaps by adding a bit more cardamom or leaving out the black pepper. You are highly encouraged to take the proportions into your own hands and alter the amounts to suit your preferences. However, do not skip the step of bringing the milk to a boil 3 times. It might seem tedious and unnecessary (warmed milk should be sufficient, right?) but I promise you that there is a very prominent taste change that occurs during this process as the milk sugars and proteins are transformed.

Ingredients

• 2 c water
• 2 inch  cinnamon stick
  
• 5 green cardamom pods 
• 1 black peppercorn
• 1 tsp grated fresh ginger
• 1 Tbsp Indian black tea
•  2-3 tsp jaggery
• 1 cup milk

Directions

1. Bring water to a boil.
2. Crush cinnamon, cardamom and black pepper in a mortar and pestle. 
3. Add all spices to boiling water and reduce to a simmer for 10-15 min. 
4. Add tea and simmer for 3-5 minutes. The longer you simmer the stronger and more caffeinated the tea will be.
5. Add milk and sugar and bring to a boil 3 times.
   
6. Strain and enjoy.

Serves 2-3

Note: You do not need to bring the milk to boil 3 times when using a plant based milk. Once will suffice.