Masala Chai - Indian Spiced Milk Tea

Tea to most Indians is like coffee is to the Western world even though coffee is more famous in Southern India. A simple cardamom studded chai is a daily affair in our lives.

But as the winters walk in, the warmth of spices takes the daily chai to a different level. Ask an Indian, and they will leap at the thought of having freshly made steaming tea on the street stalls on a chilly day.

I need tea to start my day. More precisely, I need a strong, slightly sweet and milky tea to get me out of the bed. I bend towards Turkish coffee for evenings but I can vouch for most Indians needing tea for more than two times a day (read M) .

I for one can't do with packaged masala tea powders. I think it tastes like crap. I don't even make masala tea powder at home. No I don't think that makes the cut for me either. There are certain disadvantages which I see with making masala tea powder at home. Firstly although I can never get bored tea in general, but I do like different types of masala tea everyday.

Someday very gingery calls my name and some days I want fennels seeds and someday I want alot of warmth from cinnamon and other times I want it all. Using masala powder would mean I stick with the same spice mix each day.  Secondly, well okay there isn't anything secondly but you get the point.

Depending on my mood, what I have on hand, I keep switching up the spices in the masala chai. Everything keeps changing but one thing, cardamom. Here's an ideal spice mix for two cups of tea. Remember what I said before, play around, use what you like, increase what you want, decrease what you don't like. Its your baby! It might as well be your trade mark. 

Masala Chai - Indian Spiced Milk Tea 
Click here for printable recipe
Serves 2


Ingredients
2 cups water

1 cup milk *

1 1/4 tbsp Indian black tea 

Sugar to taste

Spice mix 

2 cardamom pods (cracked)

2 whole black peppers

2 whole all spice berries
1 petal star anise

2 whole cloves

1/2 tsp fennel seeds

1/2 inch fresh ginger (shredded)

1/2 stick cinnamon

Smallish pinch of nutmeg

Dry rose petals

Note


* Some people prefer way more milky tea than that and make equal proportions of water and milk. Some even use more milk than water. More milk leads to milder tea so choice is yours.

Method

Bring the water, tea, sugar and spices to a boil. Depending on preference and strength required determine the time for which you boil the tea. I prefer about 5-10 minutes. If you are looking for a milder tea you can add the tea after the first boil.

Add milk and boil for another 5 minutes. Strain and serve hot with Indian biscuits or biscotti.