← Nouns Cooking · Indian

Ingredients

• 250 ml Water
• 250 ml whole milk
• 2 tsp strong loose black tea (Assam or CTC)
• 2 cm piece Ginger, crushed
• 3 green cardamom pods, crushed
• 2 Cloves
• 3 black peppercorns, crushed (optional)
• 1 cm piece Cinnamon stick (optional)
• 3 tsp sugar, to taste

Method

1. Put the water, ginger and whole spices in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer for 2 min to draw out the flavour.
2. Add the tea and boil for 1 minute, until the water is dark.
3. Pour in the milk and sugar and bring back to the boil. Let it bubble up, lower the heat and simmer for 2–3 min, until the chai is a rich caramel colour.
4. Strain into cups and serve piping hot.

Tips

• Add the ginger before the milk: fresh ginger can curdle milk if they are boiled together from cold.
• For a vegan chai, use oat or soy milk and add it only at the end, heating gently.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Hebbar's Kitchen Cook With Manali