I'm back! Did you miss me? I was all sickly and working a bunch all last week, and therefore far too lazy to even clean my house, let alone post blogs. But no worries, I have a treat.
Who doesn't love chai tea? Hint: it is not me who does not love chai tea. I had never enjoyed this delicacy until I had a meal card in college with a chai tea machine in the food court. And it was love.
Over the summer this supply dried up, so I went to Campus Convenience (aka Campco) and inquired as to whether one might find chai tea somewhere in the store. The new owner, who was incidentally Indian, directed me to a shelf with some black tea on it. "No no, like . . . chai . . . it's got milk and honey in it?"
"But, this is chai"
"Um, well, what I'm looking for comes in a carton?"
"Chai is an Indian word that means 'tea.'"
"OH."
And thus ended one of many cultural lessons that naturally befall a white middle-class suburban girl from New Hampshire sooner or later.
And look! Just five years later, here I am, so culturally learned that I not only eat Pho on a regular basis, but am making my own chai tea. There are dozens of recipes out there, so I kind of mashed them all up to create an optimal mix of things. Fortunately, my experiments in Pho leave me with pretty much all the ingredients on hand!
For one, cardamom pods.
Did you know the best way to get cardamom flavouring is to smash open the pods? It's true! I read it on the Internet. I guess outside of the pods, the seeds don't retain their flavour very well.
I assembled the other spices, shying not away from traditionally savoury spices such as fennel and black peppercorns.
Float your tea bags atop some milk. Many folks like the creaminess of whole milk. I used 1% because the cooking of it thickens it quite a bit, and more importantly, I'm totally on a diet.
Then you stir continuously while it comes to a boil. Then you simmer. And then you simmer some more. In fact, the longer you simmer, the spicier it becomes. Perhaps less cardamom is better if you're planning on spicing it to the max.
Strain. I doubly strained this because cheesecloth is a pain in the ass sometimes and also, this strainer is not nearly stringent enough to get those itty bitty tea leaves that burst out of those cheap tea bags.
After some chilling, I iced that business and enjoyed it with some fine biscuits I found at the Indian store while in search of bulk black peppercorns.
And that's that! I made a half gallon of tea for sharing, but the recipe makes a quart.
Chai Tea
2 tsp fresh ginger, smashed via mortar and pestle or otherwise minced
4 bags of black tea
2 cinnamon sticks
1 tsp fennel seeds
4 whole cloves
8 black peppercorns
4 cardamom seeds
1/4 cup honey
1 quart of milk (your choice of fat content--that's 4 cups)
Pour milk, spices and honey into a saucepan, float the tea bags on top, and let come to a boil while stirring continuously. Reduce to a simmer (continue to stir) and let simmer for 10-15 minutes. Simmer for longer for a stronger flavour. Turn off heat, let sit a few minutes. The milk will get a skin on top of it; skim and discard. Strain through a fine mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth if you have it. Serve hot, or chill and serve with ice. And delicious sunshine biscuits.
15 comments:
MMM! Your tea looks fantastic! I don't think that I have the patience to do all of that. lol!
Isn't it weird! I had dhal for dinner and some chai to go with it! Hee - I might make some of your chai recipe tomorrow and have it with my leftover dhal.
Great post.
o gawd... that looks awesome. i brew chai at home too, but i grind everything coursely and put it in one of those vietnamese espresso drippers. then I thin it with milk. MMMMM.
I love chai. Been finding that if I brew some with a bit of vanilla soy milk, it makes a great dessert on a cold fall evening.
This recipe looks lovely.
looks delicious, and perfect for a cold cold day (like it is here this morning).
try it with a pinch or two of cayenne pepper next time- it adds a really nice kick.
That is awesome!
Now if we can just get you using proper loose-leaf tea rather than that nasty bagged crap (which containes all the little bits of leftover tea and tea dust rather than REAL tea)...your world will be officially rocked. ^_^
Tami - it's not so bad . . . worse if you have to take pictures, though!
Amanda - I swear, we are food-aligned . . . let me know how my chai compares to yours. =)
Alex - thanks!
ila - don't go tempting me with more kitchen devices . . . I have simply too many already!
lo - I love soy milk!
ana - AWESOME IDEA. Oh man, I'm so doing that, thank you!
melissa - I know, I know, it's just what I had on hand . . . the shame.
I love your amazing white backgrounds.
I was just learning all about chai from two Indian friends. The pics are fabulous!
Wow! This is amazing. I tagged you for an award on my site :) Hope you're feeling better!
Wow. What a gorgeously photographed recipe/article.
The chai looks delicious, too!
Your Chai Tea is so patiently made/brewed!
Happy New Year!
That looks (and sounds) tasty! I will have to try it. I've been living in Korea for 9 months and am back stateside for a month, and am loving having access to spices other than chili powder again.
Also, do you mind if I add you to my blogroll? I love your blog, and its name is also quite awesome.
- Living Life Frame by Frame
I love chai in Singapore too. We have teh indian version as well and Malay version too. Malay is call Teh. Nice too. Yummmm... but making them at home. Its so Fun:) Sometime we pour the milk tea, from one cup to another, which will form bubbles on top. Some how it taste even nicer. Heehe
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