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Chai - The Most Common Beverage in India

by: Bharat Darshan | last updated: November 13, 2009
Category: Recipe, Food & Drink | Tags: Chai, indian chai, indian chai recipes, Tea, Indian tea, indian tea recipes, tea recipes from India, tea recipes, masala chai, masala tea
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Chai - The Most Common Beverage in India

Tea is the commonly used beverage in India and there seems no end to the variety of recipes available. Each one can make his/her own recipe. There is a diversity of recipes all across India. The most common ones being Masala Chai, Plain tea, Ginger tea and cardamom tea. The extreme North of India has its own regional recipe and is known as Kahwa. A good amount of spices and dry fruits are put in and it becomes a kind of herbal syrup that contains no milk. Kahwa helps people to maintain there body warmth in extreme winters.

 

Following are the best Chai recipes from India

Plain Tea:
Ingredients for 2 cups
  • Water 1½ cups
  • Dried tea leaves (or tea powder) 2 tsp.
  • Whole milk 1/2 cup.
  • Sugar as per taste.

Method:
  • Put 1-1/2 cups water in saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the milk and sugar and bring to a simmer. You can avoid adding the sugar and add it in the end while serving.
  • Throw in the tea leaves. The tea mixture will rise and may spill over the top, so be aware and remove from the heat or turn off the heat(stove).
  • Let it sit for 2 minutes.
  • Strain the tea into two cups and serve immediately. Sip and enjoy!

Image credit: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/128/359315633_038d7d13fd_o.jpg

Masla tea:
 Ingredients for 4 cups
  • 4 whole cloves
  • 2 cardamom pods
  • 1 cinnamon stick, broken into pieces
  • 3 cups water
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar or according to taste
  • 2 tablespoons Black tea

Method
  • In a mortar, crush the cloves, cardamom pods and cinnamon.
  • Transfer the crushed spices to a small saucepan, add the water, ginger and pepper and bring to a boil.
  • Add the milk and sugar to the pan and let it boil. Remove from the heat and add the tea. Or lowering the heat add the tea.
  • Cover and let steep for 3 minutes.
  • Strain it into a warmed teapot or directly into teacups.

Image credit: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2182/2353610341_f2c9a3bae3_o.jpg

Chai Masala Recipe
 Ingredients (makes one small jar)
  • 1 cup dried ginger roots
  • 1/2 cup green cardamom pods (elachi)
  • 1 tbsp peppercorns
  • 6-7 2" cinnamon sticks
  • 4-5 Cloves

Method:
  • Dry all the ingredients in a low temp oven for an hour or until dry. Grind all the ingredients finely. Sieve it and grind again.
  • Store in a glass airtight jar.

Tip: To get the best flavor add the Tea Masala while you boil water to make tea. For 2 cups of tea add 1/4 tsp of Tea Masala.

Image credit: http://theteaplace.ca/The%20Tea%20Place/Chai_Teas_files/shapeimage_2.png

Ginger Tea:
Ingredients for 4 cups:
  • 2 cups water
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 4 tablespoon sugar or according to taste
  • 1 1/2 - 3 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
  • 1 ½ Tablespoon loose Indian tea

Method :
  • Put water in a pan and add ginger, tea and sugar. Bring it to a boil add milk and again bring it a boil. Strain into a teapot, pitcher, or individual cups

Image credit: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3497/3206781456_fcdaffcac5_o.jpg

Cardamom Tea:
 Ingredients for 4 cups
  • 5 cardamom pods, slightly crushed
  • 2 cups water
  • 2 teaspoon tea
  • 4 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 cups Milk

Method:
  • Put about 2 cups water into a large pan, add the cardamom and bring to the boil.
  • Once boiling, add tea and sugar.
  • Add enough 2 cups of milk to turn a milky tea-color.
  • Bring to the boil again and before it bubbles over, take off the heat.
  • Pour through a strainer into cups.

Image credit: http://loobylu.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/chai.jpg

Kashmiri tea:
 Ingredients for 4 cups
  • 1 tsp loose tea
  • 4 cardamom pods, bruised
  • 1 small cinnamon stick, broken up
  • Saffron threads, a pinch
  • 4 cups water
  • 2 tbs finely powdered almonds
  • Honey, to taste

Method :
  • Mix everything except honey and almonds in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and let tea steep for 5 minutes. Put a teaspoon of almonds in the bottom of each cup, and pour hot tea over.
  • Sweeten with honey to taste.

Image credit: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/39/85866735_3abf981fe7_o.jpg

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