Chai Time

Just over a month ago, Leela and I came to the UK after living out in India for 2 years, on and off. Whilst there, I picked up quite a few tasty recipes and, well, habits too! My little 'sinful' habit that I indulge in whenever I need a virtual 'hug' is a nice cup of sweet Chai (Indian spiced tea). In Indian homes it's offered to all guests and is pretty compulsory drinking. It is, however, drunk in tiny cups, rather like expresso cups, as it is so rich (and if you're visiting many homes, which can easily happen in India, you only want a small cup in each house!). My version here is still rich but maybe a bit less so than true Maharashtran chai (which really puts hair on your chest).

As I'm nursing my sore throat today, I thought it was high time for Chai... so in celebration of chai, here's my recipe:

For one medium sized (English-sized) mug of chai, you'll need:

Standard teabag or two (or tea leaves/powder)
2 cardamom pods
Fresh root ginger (a small piece, around 2cm long)
Milk (I use full cream)
Sugar (or other sweetening agent)
Tea strainer

All the ingredients together

Some people add cinnamon to their chai, but I tend to leave it out as it can make it rather too rich for my taste. If you do like cinnamon, try adding a small piece of cinnamon bark to the pot, maybe 3cm long.

Ok, so to start slice up the fresh ginger into thin slices. You can peel it thinly and add it like that to the saucepan, or mash it in a pestle and mortar too which gives a stronger taste. Add more or less ginger, to your taste (you'll know after a few attempts).

Next, it's time to open up the cardamom pods. One tip I learnt in India was to bang the pods on the worktop to open them. To do this, simply hold them by the point of the pod:

Top pic - see the 'point', bottom pic - holding it ready to bash it

...then whack it on the worktop. It'll open up and you can pick the seeds out to add to the pot (I also add the skin as I guess it must hold some of the flavour of the seeds). Again, for a stronger taste, you can crush the seeds up in a pestle and mortar before adding.

Next, add the milk. For this tea, that means pretty much a whole mug of milk, so measure it by the size of your mug. Then add the sugar to the pot. Now, in India tea is drunk SWEET. I developed a taste for it, so if you want it 'authentic', try adding 3 teaspoons of sugar (for one mug... ). Feel free to try other sweeteners if that's your choice. I haven't tried honey, but I imagine it might change the taste of the chai quite a lot, but see how it is for you. You can always omit sweeteners completely, but that takes away all the fun (and enjoyment!) for me!

Then it's time for the tea to be added. At the moment I don't have any loose leaf tea, which I'd normally use, so I use 2 teabags instead. However, to ensure the tea develops a nice brown colour, I rip them open at the corner and tip the powder into the pan. That seems to work best as it can circulate properly in the milk. Otherwise, if you have loose-leaf black tea (such as English Breakfast), then simply add 2 or 3 heaped teaspoons to the pan instead.

Finally, add a small amount of water (maybe a quarter of a mug) to the mixture. This will lighten it up a bit, because this is quite a 'dense' tea.

Bring the mixture to the boil, stirring it frequently. When it reaches the boil, allow it to 'boil up' the sides of the pan. If you're using a gas stove, you may find the tea 'hisses' as it boils up. This is good as it warms the sides of the pan up before pouring (otherwise it can hiss and spit everywhere when you're trying to pour it, which can be a pain).

Boiling the chai up the sides of the pan - let it get to the top (but not over it as I always do...oops)

Reduce the heat of the stove to low/medium and allow the chai to simmer for 5 minutes or more until a nice brown colour develops.

Look for a nice rich brown colour coming... then it's nearly ready

...and when it reaches your desired strength, pour it out into your cup through a tea strainer and enjoy!

A hug in a cup!

Oh and if you're wondering about the wrinkly 'skin' that can form on top, don't worry. That's a good thing. You can either fling it off or eat it along with the tea. When I first complained about it, my Indian husband reassured me that it's the 'best bit'! Well, each to their own!