Years before I stepped foot onto the red dirt of Delhi streets, one of my oldest friends sat me down in his kitchen in Santa Barbara and made masala chai from scratch, adding a dash of cayenne – two tricks he had learned on a recent trip to Morocco. I was hooked from the start, but when I tried to get my fix with the Chai Latte at Starbucks, I was greeted with an overpowering blast of thick sugary flavor granules. So when I finally made my way to India, finding great masala chai was high on my list of things to do – and I did find it. Nothing you’ll get at your local chain coffee shop compares to the chai sold on the night train to Varanasi.
On trains in India, chai wallahs walk up and down the aisles selling hot, freshly made chai to passengers ready to trade a few rupees for a little comfort in a cup. Needless to say, they don’t use a powdered mix. They carefully make their chai with whole spices, slowly boiling milk, water and black tea together and adding just enough sugar to make it delicious. To clarify – “Chai” means tea, and “masala” simply means a mixture. Whatever you do, don’t say “chai tea” – it’s repetitive!
Chai Masala for 4
- 2 cups milk
- 2 cups water
- 4 whole cloves
- 2 green cardamom pods, crushed
- A few gratings of nutmeg
- 2 black peppercorns, crushed
- 1 cinnamon stick (I always put in 2 though)
- 1 1″ piece of ginger
- Sugar to taste (2 Tb is a good starting point)
- 2 Tb loose leaf Assam tea (or any black tea)
- A tiny pinch of cayenne pepper flakes (optional)
Pour milk and water into a sauce pan and combine with the spices. Bring to a simmer for 10 minutes, stirring gently, but frequently, to prevent the milk from scalding. Now add the tea leaves and continue simmering for 5 more minutes. Add 2 Tb of sugar, stir to combine, then taste to make sure it’s sweet enough (my first attempts always turned out a little too bitter).
Strain into a teapot and serve.
Crazy about Chai? Then check out my White Chocolate Chai Snickerdoodle recipe!
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