masala chai

Nick-H

I use about [what used to be called] a salt-spoon-full of the powdered masala per cup.

Sometimes up to 1/4 teaspoonful --- but that makes what I call curried tea! Sometimes one needs a jolt

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robotvoice

btw, i noticed when i got back to the states that tea will not steep in hot milk. i went to my normal cafe craving india and street chai so i asked for a glass of hot milk and a tea bag, only to find that i could not get the tea to disolve at all. that explains why you have to boil the @#$ out of it.

Nick-H

Has to be made with boiling liquid.

...don't know how they manage up in the mountains!

icetea

that sounds more like western herbal tea, or the red or yellow water people drink in Kerala (water boiled with some unidentified spices)

sald

I like my masala chai spiked even further - with lemon grass and mint...start with water, add sugar, the masala, grated ginger, lemon grass and mint leaves. Heat the water and add tea half-way to its boiling point. Once it boils, add milk and bring it to a boil again...like many on the forum have said...its a way of life!! And a perfect start to any day!!

icetea

Am I wrong or is masala chai not so common in the South?
And where do you get your lemongrass from...I can't see it anywehere here..

sald

Lemongrass is available widely in the local markets here. Am not sure what it is called in the local language in the south though, but we routinely refer to it as "haree chai".

agoraphobe

The only masala chai I've had was in Canada. I spent most of my India time in Maharashtra where it seems like its just tea, milk, water and sugar all boiled together and strained through and old sock (it's the sock that works the magic). In Karimnagar they just had giant pots that rolled day and night and they'd skim the milk scum off the top every once and while. A cup with send you from to

kristinm

Here is the recipe I got from Jintu at Katkoun guest house in Bundi who made the best chai of all our trip - sorry, the equal best with Babu from Haveli on the Lake in Udaipur.

You kind of had to watch the process - and he was very particular that the tea be black ASSAM... he says that's what makes it better than the street chai (which was pretty good too). I've made this back here and its good - although you have to be vigilant or it can be very messy!!!!.

You have to work out the proportions yourself...to your liking and how much you are making.

Crush together - knob ginger, cloves and cardamom seeds? pods?

Bring to a kind of under-boil half milk and water

When it kind of reaches the boil or just before, turn it down or take it off, throw in the spices, 4 or 5 teaspoons of the tealeaves and as much sugar as you want (he used several teaspoons but I'm trying to wean myself back off sugar!).

Turn the heat back up and then this is the tricky bit... bring it to the boil again 4 or 5 times without letting it froth up and over, but making sure it is actually a rolling boil.. he brought it to the top of the pan and then deftly flicked the gas down until the mixture subsided, then back up again quickly - so its a kind of quick process.

Strain immediately into cups.

We also got tried to get recipes for all the chai we liked.. some put the spices in whole & not crushed, some where cinnamon is used and even one with a pinch of black pepper - good for when you have a cold.

Scandojazzbuff

Masala Chai is widely available in south India. In fact, on my recent trip to Kerala, I had the best masala chai I can remember. I asked for the recipe.

Equal parts of:

crushed cinnamon
cardamom
clove
ginger-fresh

Boil for 5 minutes. Toss in black tea to taste. simmer 1 minute. pour in milk to taste and sugar. You can also add in whole black peppercorns. This is an easy and delicious drink. One can vary the proportions of spices and add others into the mix.

One thing to note: I consider the Chinese to be the great tea masters of the world. They would never boil the tea, only steep it, for the best flavor. Enjoy!

snonymous

First choose your spices. If you like ginger, get a piece of FRESH ginger and smash it, then smash a cardamom pod, a clove, a whole black peppercorn and a small piece of cinnamon. Then add water and simmer for a while, bring to a full boil, add tea leaves, sugar to taste and milk. Boil once again. Strain and voila you have masala chai. You can also add fresh mint, lemon grass, any spices that you prefer. Needless to say, fresh ingredients, freshly pounded, give a much superior flavour than powdered spices, but you can also use powdered spices if you wish. Concentrated ready tea masala drops are available in the market as well as tea masala powder but as I said, fresh is best. If you dont like milk, you can also have this as black tea, with or without tea leaves, like a herbal infusion. Very good for colds !! Enjoy your masala chai.

dlesli

In the U.S., the STASH masala chai - available at some krogers and World Market - is pretty close to some I had in Rajasthan and a heck of alot easier than starting from scratch!

Indizen

Ready mix masala Nilgiris tea is easily available in the south of India. On my recent trip to Kerala I had picked up a carton of excellent masala chai, very delicately flavored, with all the right ingredients, in powder form, very easy to prepare.

Nick-H

Masala chai is common in the south: ask for 'special tea'.

I don't bother, out of the house. We have masala chai all day at home, and tea-shop tea is usually thicker, richer, creamier (not to mention sweeter) anyway.

Indizen

If you ask for SPECIAL TEA in a Kerala restaurant, they will serve you chilled beer in a tea pot !