Masala Tea

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup milk • 2 Cups water • 4 tsp Tea leaves • 1 Piece cinnamon • 1 Chunk dried ginger • 3 Cardamoms, crushed • 3 Cloves • 2 Black peppers • Sugar to taste

How to make Masala Chai:

• Boil two cups of water. • Add all ingredients except sugar and milk. • Boil for about 30 seconds. • Allow it to stand for a minute. • In a pot, heat the milk. • Filter the tea into cups. • Now add milk and sugar. • Masala tea is ready to serve.

Masala Chai

Spiced Milk Tea (Masala Chai)

Enjoyed by millions in India, masala chai, a spiced, sweetened black tea mixed with milk, is now popular around the world. It is sold all over India by chai wallahs, or tea vendors, who pour the tea from big kettles into small cups. Americans have incorrectly shortened the name to chai (which means simply "milk tea"); masala refers to the combination of spices, which often includes cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, pepper, fennel, and star anise. Although there are many chai blends available in supermarkets, making your own is quick and satisfying, and the results are much better.

• Ingredients: 
• 10 green cardamom pods, cracked, seeds removed, and pods discarded, or 1/2 teaspoon cardamom seeds or ground cardamom
• 1 (1 1/2-inch) piece cinnamon stick
• 4 peppercorns (preferably white)
• 1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 2 cups whole milk
• 3 1/2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar, or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 cups water
• 5 teaspoons loose orange pekoe tea or other black tea

• Equipment: a mortar and pestle or an electric coffee/spice grinder

Preparation: 

Grind together cardamom, cinnamon stick, peppercorns, and fennel seeds with mortar and pestle or coffee/spice grinder.

Bring milk just to a simmer in a 2-quart heavy saucepan. Stir or whisk in brown sugar, ground spice mixture, ginger, and 1/8 teaspoon salt, or to taste. Reduce heat to low and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, 3 minutes to infuse flavors.

Meanwhile, bring water to a boil in a 1-quart saucepan, add tea, and boil 1 minute.

Pour tea through a fine-mesh sieve into hot milk mixture (discard tea leaves) and cook over low heat 1 minute. Stir before serving.

Image Credit: flicker.com
Recipe Credit: epicurious.com

Tea

Masala Chai / Spiced up Tea (Indian style milk Tea)

Masala Chai, a perfect combination to a cold wintery evening. I am neither a habituated tea drinker nor a coffee drinker. I drink tea or coffee only if someone offers me or like this, on a cold evening (temperatures running below zero degrees) is when seriously I feel like drinking some. I make it from time to time in winter. I cannot drink plain coffee or plain tea. It has to be flavored and most importantly with company. So today when my husband came home early and asked for some tea, I made masala chai.

Ingredients: (serves 2)

1 cup water (use the measurement of the cup you are going to serve the tea in)
1 cup milk (I used whole milk)
2 tbsp tea powder (I used Red label)
2 cloves
1 inch cinamon stick
2 elaichi pods crushed
1/2 inch ginger root grated
Sugar as needed

Method:

Add water, cloves, cinamon stick, elaichi and grated ginger. Let water get bubbly, not to a full boil before adding the tea powder. Let the water come to a near boil, then add milk. Let this concoction boil up and then turn the heat down and let it boil away for sometime till you get the required color. Keep stirring it if you think the milk is sticking to the bottom. You can either add the sugar directly into the boiling tea or add it into individual cups. Strain the hot tea with a tea strainer into tea cups and enjoy!!!


Article Credit: http://smithasspicyflavors.blogspot.com