Chai Tea
One of the reasons I really like our local grocery store, Market of Choice, is that they have all types of spices in bulk. (You can buy a tablespoon of cloves or a cup full.) My favorite application of this is using whole spices to make Chai. I enjoy a cup warm when it’s freshly made, and then store the rest in a glass jar in the fridge for re-heating in the morning or over ice in the afternoon. The great thing about making chai is you can adjust the spices according to what you like, and use more or less sweetener, or whatever richness of milk you prefer. (I always use 2% because it’s what we keep on hand but it could be decadent with half-n-half?) You’ll never go back to the syrupy stuff!
Chai Tea (Serves 4-6)
- 2-inch chunk fresh Ginger, sliced
- 2 cinnamon sticks (3-inch, or one long one)
- 10 whole cloves
- 10 cardamom pods
- 1/2 tsp black peppercorns
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 whole star anise
- 6 cups water
- 2 cups milk
- 4 Tbsp. loose-leaf Indian black tea (Darjeeling or Assam…) you may substitute 5 or 6 teabags
- 1/4 cup (or to taste) palm sugar, honey, brown sugar, or desired sweetener.
Put the spices in a large saucepan and pour in the water. Bring to a boil. Drop in the sugar and stir in the tea; then pour in the milk. Turn off the heat, cover the pan, and let it steep 10 minutes.
Strain the tea and discard the spices. Pour it back into the pan to re-heat (do not boil) if you are serving it to a group, or store in a glass container in the refrigerator. Lovely served warm; refreshing served iced.
I always have different types of drinks in the fridge or in my pastry. This will be added in my collection!
what is cardamom pods? I only have ground cardamom, is that okay? BTW, I answered your questions in my blog, did you see them? Or should we just answer each other via emails? Do you use yahoo messager?
Cardamom pods are about 1/2″ long and are green with black seeds inside. Here’s a picture:
http://www.worldofstock.com/slides/PFO2682.jpg
You can find these in places that sell Indian groceries. The problem with using ground spices for Chai tea is they are hard to strain out. Maybe if you used a coffee filter? You’d have to experiment with the amount of spice, as well.