Chai
By Narayan • 15:25 on Friday, April 05, 2002 • 1 response
You’ll refine this recipe over time and make it your own—there are infinite variations on this—none of which come from a box. Experiment with different spices and leave your concoctions in the comments, please.
- 4-6 cardamom pods, the greener the better
- fresh ginger, maybe half a thumb’s worth
- black peppercorns
- a couple cloves
- a cinnamon stick
- star anise, if you have it handy
- 1-2 tsp rose water
- milk
- water
- sugar
- 4-5 black tea bags—you can use lipton black—assam works best
- take the black seeds out of the cardamom pods, or at least crush the pods so the seeds are visible.
- chop up the ginger
- put all the spices into a small, 1 qt or smaller saucepan. If you’re using tea bags, I find it helps to take the paper labels off the strings and tie the strings together. If you’re using tea ball, might as well mix the spices in too, though for some reason it tastes better to me when they’re loose in the pot.
- I use a slightly-more-milk-than-water ratio for the liquid portion of this recipe. I know folks who use all milk and folks who use just a little milk—half milk and half water is a good place to start. You’ll refine this recipe over time to one which you call your own, trust me.
- cook the chai over low-medium heat, uncovered. Stir every once in a while to avoid skinning. I should tell you that for some reason, chai leaves a really tenacious residue on your pot as you cook it—if you have nonstick, use it.
- add the rosewater towards the end of cooking. The chai will turn a nice rich brown color and I take it off the heat right as it begins to boil over.
- put a decent amount of sugar into a cup—I use 1.5 teaspoons for a regular size mug. Pour the hot liquid over the sugar, stir, and serve immediately.