Everyday Chai
Photo by Annada Rathi
- Serves
- 2
- Prep Time
- 5 Minutes
- Cook Time
- 15 Minutes
This is the kind of chai made everyday, several times, in Indian households including mine - here in the US as well as India. Yes, we love chai that much. There are tons of variations too, some like to add mint, chai masala (a spice mix especially made for chai), black pepper. After looking at everything that went into making tea, someone remarked, "Now might as well add some tadka - seasoned oil."
Ingredients
- 2 cup water
- 0.5 cup milk (full fat ,2% or 1%)
- 1.5 teaspoon sugar (optional)
- 2 black tea bags or 1.5 tsp black tea leaves
- 1 teaspoon peeled, grated ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon chai masala (Everest or Badshah brand) or in the absence of chai masala, 2 cardamoms and 1 inch stick of cinnamon
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Directions
- Step 1
Heat water on medium heat in thick-bottomed pot. Add sugar ginger, chai masala or cardamom and cinnamon.
- Step 2
Once the water comes to a rolling boil, add tea. - After the tea-infused water comes to a boil, add milk.
- Step 3
Let the tea come to a vigorous, rolling boil. The more you boil, the more you will taste the flavors of tea and ginger. If you don’t like strong tea, stick to a single boil.
- Step 4
I’ve seen tea connoisseurs or people who like strong tea make the tea come to several rolling boils. Turn the heat to low once the level of tea rises during a rolling boil. It simmers down. Then increase the heat to make it come to a boil again. Repeat this 3-4 times for a strong tea. Increase the amount of water to 2.5 cups and milk to 2/3 cups to accommodate several boils.
- Step 5
Turn the heat off. If you are using tea leaves, you will need to run the mixture through a tea strainer to catch the loose tea leaves. Don’t throw the leaves away. Once the leaves cool down, they’re an excellent nutrient for your plants.
- Step 6
Serve the tea hot. Ginger-spiced tea tastes excellent with any savory, crunchy item like a spicy cracker or buttered toast.