Masala chai is India's most popular beverage which is also popularly known as masala tea. This masala chai recipe is aromatic, with a kick of spice, and mildly sweet! In India, everyone's morning starts with a cup of garam garam masala chai. The concoction is made with tea leaves, water, ginger, chai spice, fresh mint, sugar and milk. Imagine this concoction brewing in your kitchen every morning, it is addictive in the most pleasant way! For me, making masala tea is finding my calm, it is more like meditation.
Masala Chai is not only a beverage, it is an emotion. Growing up I would see my mom enjoying her "Me Time" with her cup of chai and Times of India, in her solitude. She would admire her plants, and sit by herself in peace before the chaos started.
Jump to:
- What is Masala Chai?
- History of Chai
- You Must Try Masala Tea Recipe Because
- What is an Authentic Masala Chai?
- Indian Tea Tastes Best with These Sides
- Benefits of Drinking Masala Tea
- Expert Tips To Make Perfect Masala Chai
- Difference Between Chai Tea Latte and Masala Chai
- Ingredients To Make Masala Chai Recipe
- Here's a Video Tutorial to Make Tea Recipe For You!
- More Indian Beverages You Might Like to Try
- Masala Chai
What is Masala Chai?
Masala chai is a warm hug in a cup. It is made with black tea leaves, with freshly pounded ginger, chai masala, milk and sugar. I love to add fresh mint leaves and lemon grass to my masala chai too. I inherited my love for masala chai from my mom. The tapri wali masala chai is our favorite. If you are not from India, you might wonder what tapri means. It simply means masala chai sold on the streets.
History of Chai
Nearly 5000 years old, this delicious chai tea beverage has won hearts of not only South Asian Countries, but has found its permanent place throughout the world. Chai was discovered in the 17th Century when trade began with China. The Dutch introduced Tea as a medicinal drink in Europe and was brought to India during the British Raj. The kings introduced chai tea as a medicinal drink, with the added goodness of warm spices and herbs, along with milk. This chai tea instantly became the most loved beverage throughout the country. Every falimy, every region, village, and different South Asian country has its own way of making chai.
You Must Try Masala Tea Recipe Because
- It is warm, aromatic, and refreshing
- It makes for a great replacement for coffee and has very low caffeine content, yet is energy-boosting.
- The ayurvedic concoction of tea leaves and spices makes it naturally anti-inflammatory, and immunity-boosting and serves several other health benefits
- It is easy to make!
What is an Authentic Masala Chai?
Masala tea recipe is traditionally made with chai ka masala. This masala is prepared at home, based on the preference of how every family likes their chai. But, you can make it without chai ka masala too. Usually, a 2:1 Water to Milk Ratio is used to make this chai, but I like to use a 1:1 Water to Milk Ratio for my Tea. The water is first boiled with loose black tea leaves and freshly pounded ginger along with whole spices like cardamom, cinnamon, and cloves. Then the milk is added to this concoction, along with sugar. This concoction is brought to a boil again and strained using a sieve. Served hot, with a side of cookies, rusk, or your favorite pastry.
Indian Tea Tastes Best with These Sides
I love masala tea, especially during colder months. Whenever I host my friends and family, I always make snack boards, with a side of chai! If you love chai, then I highly recommend you make my chai spice. It is delicious, and you can use it in baking, brownies, cookies, or even add it to your hot chocolate!
Benefits of Drinking Masala Tea
This masala tea recipe is an ayurvedic decoction of chai with whole spices made for several health benefits. I especially prefer to drink a cuppa, during colder months as it provides warmth and all the health benefits!
- It is mainly for its rich anti-inflammatory properties and a rich source of antioxidants.
- Tea leaves are naturally acidic, and these whole spices added to the chai reduce the acidic nature of chai.
- Chai gives you a refreshing boost of energy, making you feel less fatigued. It is a great alternative to coffee, as it has a very tiny amount of caffeine in it.
- The chai spice is made with spices like cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cardamom, which are proven to be immunity-boosting spices!
- This beverage is specially great to drink in the colder months, to keep us warm with a dose of delicious spices that nourish our bodies.
Expert Tips To Make Perfect Masala Chai
- Ginger is a must in masala tea recipe. I like to let the freshly pounded ginger boil with tea leaves as this step is very very important. If you don't boil the ginger properly, your tea can curdle.
- You can add fresh mint and lemon grass for a refreshing flavor boost. These are a must for me. I cannot drink my chai without lemongrass and mint!
- You must not let the tea leaves boil for more than a minute as they can turn very bitter.
- I like my tea either with a 2:1 Water to Milk ratio or a 1:1 Water to Milk Ratio.
- If you are making 2% or 1%Milk or Nut Milk, I insist you make Chai with a 1:1 water-milk ratio.
- If you are making this chai vegan, you can use oat milk or almond milk. All you need to do is bring the milk to a light simmer. You don't have to wait for it to boil.
- You can adjust the sugar as per your preference.
- I recommend using a ladle to stir the chai!
Difference Between Chai Tea Latte and Masala Chai
From what I have read, and grown up listening, tea in Hindi means chai. So when you say chai tea, it's like you are saying tea tea. Which doesn't make sense right? I find these two beverages very different because of how they are prepared!
Chai is prepared by brewing the tea in a pot, with ginger, herbs, and spices, then milk is added. This chai is then boiled on a medium flame, slowly, then strained and served.
While a chai tea latte is a concoction of brewed tea, poured into a glass and topped with milk foam! My husband and I prefer to drink an iced chai latte, but you can serve it as a hot beverage too!
I make chai concentrate and keep it to make a quick iced chai or chai latte! I used to make this concentrate a lot during my postpartum, and have it ready to go!
Ingredients To Make Masala Chai Recipe
Tea Leaves - This is very important, as it depends how your chai will turn out based on the quality of the tea leaves you are using. I like to use Darjeeling tea as it has strong, aromatic, and bold flavors.
Water - You will need water to brew the tea leaves.
Ginger - I like to add a knob of freshly pounded ginger, to add a kick of spice!
Dried Spices- You will need cardamom pods, clove, peppercorns and cinnamon stick for this recipe.
Fresh Herbs - I like to add mint and lemon grass in my chai to add a refreshing herby aroma, but you can skip it if you don't have it available.
Milk - I use whole milk for this recipe, but you can use any milk you prefer.
Sugar - We will be adding sugar to sweeten the chai. But, if you like to add jaggery or coconut sugar, add it after serving the chai. Boiling the chai with jaggery and coconut sugar may split the milk. I love jaggery in my tea, because of it's caramel-like flavor.
Here's a Video Tutorial to Make Tea Recipe For You!
More Indian Beverages You Might Like to Try
Masala Chai
These nutrional values are automatically generated. Use them for estimation only.
Equipment
- 1 Sauce Pan
- 1 Fine Mesh Strainer
- Cups to Serve Chai
Ingredients
- 3 Tsp Black Tea Leaves (Chai leaves)
- 2 Cups Water
- 1 Inch Knob of Ginger
- 4-5 Green Cardamom Pods
- 1-2 Black Peppercorns
- 1 Clove
- ½ Cinnamon Stick
- 6-7 Fresh Mint Leaves Optional
- 1 Lemon Grass Stalk Optional
- 1 Cup Milk
- 3 teaspoon Sugar
Instructions
- If you are using chai masala skip adding whole spices. Only pound fresh ginger.
- In a mortar pastel, add your sliced ginger, along with cardamom pods, black peppercorns, and cloves. Lightly pound them.
- In a sauce pan add water. Let it heat up on a medium high flame. To this add black tea leaves. Add the pounded ginger and spices. Bring it to a boil.
- Once the tea decoction starts to simmer, add fresh mint leaves and fresh lemon grass stalks. Let it boil for a minute.
- Now add milk and sugar. If you have chai spice blend (aka chai masala) add ¼th teaspoon now along with sugar.
- The chai can boil too fast, so keep a close eye on it.
- On a medium flame, let your chai boil. Once the chai boils and starts to rise, lower the flame to low. Now once again bring the flame to medium high. Once the chai starts to rise, turn off the stove.
- Strain through the mesh strainer in your Kettle or directly in the serving cups.
- Serve with your favorite cookies or snacks.
Notes
- It takes a few tries to know your preference on how you prefer your tea.
- Ginger in tea is a must. Make sure you add the pounded ginger and let the tea leaves boil for a minute before adding milk. If the ginger is not boiled with the tea leaves, the milk might curdle.
- You can either use whole milk, or 2% milk to make this chai. If you are using 2% milk, I would suggest you use 1:1 water to milk ratio.
- Add sugar after adding milk. Adjust as per your taste.
- Add the whole spices according to your preference.
Nutrition
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