MASALA CHAI

Masala chai is also known as masala tea is India's most popular drink and is loved by everyone.Imagine the flavor of brewing ,sweet , spicy, hot and aromatic spices with sugar ,milk,and tea...... amazing.

This masala chai is flavoursome delicious and totally relaxing .A hot cup of masala chai is an amazing way to soothe your senses and refresh your mind.

A lot of Indian love to sip their masala chai all-round the year along with their breakfast and evening snacks.Some limit it to monsoons and cold winters because it keep the body warm and help break up the blocked sinus.

Many different kinds of tea are made across the world and each one has its own properties so they have different health benefits.

Masala chai is an Indian beverage made by brewing black tea with spices ,sugar, and milk .in Hindi the word masala means spices and chai means tea.So masala chai is milk tea brewed with aromatic spices.There are also versions where aromatic herbs like mint and tulsi (holy basil) are added to it.

Every Indian may have their own recipe to make masala tea. the combination of spices, the quantity of milk ,water and the kind of tea to use is the personal choice and this is what decides the strength ,flavor and taste of your masala chai.

1. Pour 1 1/2 cups water to a pot
2. Add tea powder or tea leaves
3. I use 2 1/2 to 3 teaspoons tea leaves or 1 to 1 1/4 teaspoon powder (dust)
4. you can use more or less depending on the kind of tea you are using ,or you can also use 3 to 3 tea bags .
5. Simmer the black tea first.
6. chai made on low flame tastes best.
7. bring this to a boil and simmer . meanwhile get your spices ready.

To make instant masala chai add the following whole spices to a small mortar pestle or spice grinder.

• 2 to 3 cloves
• 1/2 to 3/4 cinnamon (cassia or ceylon)

• 4 green cardamoms

Crush them fine or slightly coarse to bring out the flavors.

Add the masala chai powder and ginger

Also add sugar at this stage .I use 3 to 4 teaspoon. You can use as little or as much as u prefer.Let the tea come to a rapid boil especially if you are using ginger.

Pour 1/2 cup full fat milk to the simmering black tea . adjust the quantity of milk as needed

Adding milk before boiling the ginger well will more likely curdle the milk .So ensure you add the milk only after boiling the ginger well with black tea.

Boil on a low to medium heat until the tea turns dark .Simmering helps the tea to thicken .I usually simmer until it reduces to 1 3/4 cup

Fresh holy basil or mint leaves can also be used for variations .You can taste test and add more milk if you prefer.But simmer again for little longer so the tea doesn't have the milk flavor.

serve masala chai hot or warm with biscuits . Or enjoy by itself.

This is the second method. If u drink masala tea regularly , you can make the masala chai powder in the little larger quantity and store it in the glass jar.

The quantities are in the picture above

these are

1. 1teaspoon cardamoms
2. 1/2 teaspoon cloves
3. 2 1/2 to 3 gram cinnamon
4. 1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
5. 1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns
6. 1/2 nutmeg
7. 2 petals star flower

Grind the above ingredients

This will give u about 3 teaspoon powder

Store in air tight container

Use about 1/2 teaspoon or more to make 2 servings of tea.

For stronger tea you can use about 3/4 teaspoon

Enjoy with biscuits.

Traditionally masala chai is made with loose tea leaves but now most people use processed black tea which is in granular or powder form .There are basically 2 different kinds of processed tea in market - CTC and tea dust .

CTC tea is produced by processing tea leaves through cylindrical rollers to crush , Tear and curl them ,the resulting processed tea is in a granular or pellet form .This CTC tea imparts bolder and boost flavours to your masala chai along with a deep brown color.

Tea dust is another kind of processed tea which is finer and is almost in powder form . Apart from these you can also make masala tea with black tea bags

1.What is masala chai made of ?

Masala chai is made with black tea, spices,sugar and milk. It is basically black tea simmered with spices sugar and milk.Various spices like cloves ,cinnamon,cardamoms,nutmeg,black pepper and ginger are used.

2.what is the difference between chai and masala chai ?

chai is generic term meaning tea in Hindi, while masala chai means spiced tea,masala means spices and chai means tea.

3.can I drink masala tea every day ?

Yes a lot of Indians drink masala tea every day ,round the year. But it depends on where you live and your body constitution. If you live in hot and humid weather,reduce the warming spices like cloves and black pepper and increase the quantity of green cardamoms.Limit your consumption to 1 to 2 cups a day.

4.Why is my masala tea watery (diluted)?

You have used too much water or too little milk.The right ratio of water to milk is very crucial to make a good chai. For best results ,you will need anywhere from 1:1 to 3:1 ratios (w:m) depending on the kind of milk.Full fat homogenized, toned and raw cow milk work with 3:1 ratio while low fat and non homogenized cow milk (pasteurized, pre boiled) work with 1:1 ratio .However do experiment a few times to arrive at what works well for you.

5.why is my tea bitter ?

using a lot of tea leaves or powder can make your tea bitter.The amount of tea to use again depends on the brand of tea and kind of milk you use .Try reducing the quantity of tea next time or add more milk and simmer for a while to cut down the bitterness.

6.Why did my masala tea curdle ?

Most masala tea use fresh ginger.If you use fresh ginger, always boil it first along with black tea , until the tea reaches a boiling point .Add the milk only after that Adding milk early before the ginger boils can curdle the milk due to ginger protease enzyme known as zingibain . Boiling the ginger to a boiling point will destroy this enzyme so your tea wont curdle.

Prep time : 2 minutes

Cook time : 7 minutes

Total time : 9 minutes

Serving : 2 people

MASALA CHAI - MASALA TEA .

Amount per serving

calories 93 calories from fat 27

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% Daily value *

fat 3g 5%

saturated fat 1g 6%

cholesterol 9mg 3%

sodium 59mg 3%

potassium 120mg 3%

carbohydrates 11g 4%

sugar 9g 10%

protein 4g 8%

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vitamin A 250IU 5%

calcium 103mg 10%

iron 0.6mg 3%

*Percent daily values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.