# Masala Chai Recipe (Indian Masala Tea)

Indian masala chai is one of the most enjoyed beverages in India. Masala meaning a mixture of spices is simmered along with milk and tea leaves or powder. Then it is lightly sweetened with sugar. This recipe will give you masala tea that you would get in any standard Indian restaurant.

- Servings: 2 servings
- Total time: 10 min
- Cuisine: Indian
- Category: Drink
- Language: en

## 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)

## Instructions

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

## Equipment

- mortar pestle
- spice grinder
- pot
- sauce pot
- soup ladle
- measuring cup
- blender jar
- glass 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.

## Source

- Original video: https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/masala-tea-chai/
- Recipe page: https://www.cliprecipe.com/recipe/e0376460-a97f-48c8-a105-b1f57565b36f
- Extracted: 2025-07-13

Extracted from the video by Clip Recipe (https://www.cliprecipe.com). Quantities and steps are as stated or shown in the video. Site guide for agents: https://www.cliprecipe.com/llms.txt