Chai...There's nothing that screams India to me louder than a hot cup of Chai. Chai is Indian tea made by boiling black tea leaves and milk. The distinct flavor, however, comes from infusing it with spices, such as Cardamom, Cinnamon, Ginger, and sometimes, Cloves and Black Peppercorn.
Chai is just Chai. Chai means Tea. Not Chai Tea, that means Tea Tea. Chai is just Chai
Today I am going to share with you my favorite way of making Chai. Between figuring your the right quantity of water, milk and sugar, it took me more than a few times of making it to master this recipe...definitely not something I learned before I was married.
My first ever Chai fiasco was saved by my brother-in-law's friend. I was a new Bride who was asked to make tea for some visitors and had boy oh boy, that tea should have just been called Milk :)
Anyways, here we go!
This recipe will yield 2 perfect cups of Tea. Typically, I just make it for Hubby and Me, so adjust it as per your liking.
Ingredients:
1 cup of water
3 cups of whole milk
1 1/2 tsp of Black Tea Leaves (Lipton, Society, WaghBhakri)
6 crushed pods of Cardomom
1/2 inch Ginger (optional, but great if you've got a cold)
Sugar to taste (minimum of 1 tsp per cup)
First,
Bring the water to a boil
Once it's boiling, add in the tea leaves, cardamom and ginger
Let it boil for about 2-3 minutes on medium flame
Next add in the milk and raise the flame a tad
This is where the technique comes in.
Once the milk starts to boil, lower your flame and keep an eye on it so it doesn't overflow.
Once the milk starts to rise, turn the flame down and let the chai boil for a few more minutes.
It turns a beautiful reddish brown. That's when you know your Chai is ready to enjoy.
Grab a mug, add your suga suga to it, pour in your chai using a strainer, stir and enjoy
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