Masala Chai Recipe (Indian Masala Tea)

10 mins
Serves 2
https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/masala-tea-chai/

Directions

  1. 1Add cloves, cardamom, cinnamon stick & black pepper to a mortar pestle or a spice grinder.
  2. 2Crush or grind them to a powder.
  3. 3Heat water in a pot.
  4. 4Add the ground spices, crushed/chopped ginger and tea.
  5. 5Bring this to a rolling boil and reduce the heat to medium.
  6. 6Boil for 3 mins until the decoction turns dark.
  7. 7Pour milk and add sugar.
  8. 8Bring it to a boil on a medium high heat.
  9. 9If using tea bags remove them at this stage and keep aside.
  10. 10Reduce the heat and simmer until the chai (tea) becomes dark, for about 2 mins.
  11. 11When the masala tea is ready, you will see a layer of cream on top and also the milk flavor is gone.
  12. 12Optionally aerate or pull your masala chai for the same Chaiwallah taste.
  13. 13Take a soup ladle and aerate the masala chai or simply pour some chai to a measuring cup.
  14. 14Pour the hot tea in a slow stream, back to the chai pot from a height of 1 to 1½ feet.
  15. 15Repeat this step of pulling hot masala chai from the pot to the cup, a few times (4 to 5 times).
  16. 16Strain the masala chai to serving cups & serve with any breakfast, snack or biscuits.
  17. 17Clean all the spices and add to a blender jar.
  18. 18Powder finely.
  19. 19Store it in an airtight glass jar.
  20. 20Use about ½ to ¾ tsp or more to make 2 servings of tea.
  21. 21For stronger tea you can use about ¾ tsp.

Ingredients

  • 4 green cardamoms (elaichi or ¼ teaspoon ground)
  • 2 cloves (3 for stronger flavor or ⅛ teaspoon ground)
  • 0.5 inch cinnamon piece (cassia or Ceylon or ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon)
  • 2 pepper corn (or a pinch of ground pepper, optional)
  • 1.5 cups water
  • 1 cup full fat milk (adjust to taste, Refer notes)
  • 2.5 teaspoons black tea leaves or tea powder (dust) (or 3 to 4 tea bags, Refer notes)
  • 2 teaspoons sugar or as needed
  • 0.5 teaspoon ginger chopped or crushed (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon green cardamoms (5 grams skinned) (elaichi)
  • 0.5 teaspoon cloves (2 grams)
  • 2.5 grams cinnamon (cassia or Ceylon)
  • 0.25 teaspoon fennel seeds (1½ grams) (saunf)
  • 0.25 teaspoon black pepper corn (½ tsp ground pepper)
  • 0.5 teaspoon nutmeg grated or ⅓ of large nutmeg
  • 2 petals star flower (star anise) (chakri phool)

Equipment

mortar pestlespice grinderpotsauce potsoup ladlemeasuring cupblender jarglass jar

Tips

  • Avoid overboiling the tea to prevent bitterness and heaviness; turn off heat when you smell a sweet flavor.
  • Adjust tea quantity based on the type and brand of tea leaves/powder.
  • Remove tea bags when adding milk to prevent bitterness from over-boiling.
  • For Kadak Chai, use 1½ teaspoon tea powder (dust) or 3½ teaspoons CTC loose tea leaves (Assam) and full fat homogenized or toned milk.
  • Brands like Wagh bakri and Tata Gold are recommended for loose leaf tea.
  • Adjust milk quantity to personal preference; too much can alter taste or cause acidity, too little makes it watery.
  • For low fat milk or non-homogenized cow milk, use a 1:1 ratio of milk to water.
  • Increase or decrease spice quantities to suit your taste.
  • Add a few saffron strands for a unique flavor.
  • Add fresh tulsi (holy basil) leaves for potential immunity benefits, though benefits may be less than eating raw leaves.
  • To prevent curdling when using fresh ginger, boil ginger first with black tea until the decoction boils before adding milk.