[Suvir Saran]

How do you make your Chai Tea at home?

What tea leaves do you use?

[Brad S]

http://www.cheftalkc...&highlight=chai

I hope this link works,

This was a discussion on Chai we had a year or so ago

[Suvir Saran]

Caped Chef,

The link worked. Did you try any of the recipes? Which one worked best?
How do you make your Chai?

[Brad S]

Suvir,

on that thread,the recipe I did was the second post. for me,it worked beautifully

[Suvir Saran]

A caped chef,

Do you mind sharing it with us here?

Did you get this recipe from a friend? Did you come up with it yourself?

[Brad S]

Suvir,

No I did not come up with this recipe myself,a good friend of mine from Morocco made this for me a number of years ago,and it's the one I have come to enjoy on occasion. I am sorry to use links,but I am one week out of major back surgery and am trying to keep my typing to a minamun

The recipe I use is as follows

1Tablespoon Fennel or Anise seeds
6 green cardomon pods
12 cloves
a little sliced ginger root
a few black peppercorns
a couple bay leaves (frsh if possible)
6 cups of H2o

Boil this for five minutes,then steep for 10 minutes more.
Then add 2 tablespoons Darjeeling tea and bring to a boil,then simmer 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and add 6 tablespoons honey or brown sugar and 1 cup of milk

[Suvir Saran]

Sorry for troubling you for the recipe. I am sorry.. I hope your back recovers speedily and for the best.
Thank you for taking time to share the recipe.
My apologies for troubling you... I wish I had known.

Many thanks again!

[Brad S]

Please,

No problem,
I'm really having alot of fun

[Suvir Saran]

And we are learning as you have fun.
Thanks for sharing.

[Degustation]

Mmm..I love chai, especially when it's blustery out (in another couple of months )

1-1/2 inch cinnamon stick
8 green cardamom pods
8 cloves
4-6 whole peppercorns
fresh grated ginger

Roughly crush all the spices except the ginger. Place all spices in a saucepan with 2 cups water, bring to a boil and simmer for a few minutes. Then add 1 cup warm milk (I like half and half for a richer taste, can use condensed milk or a combination thereof if the fat content is too disturbing) and simmer until liquid is reduced by half. Grate in fresh ginger while it is simmering.

Bring back to a gentle bubble before adding the tea.

Add 2 – 2.5 teaspoons loose black tea (I use Darjeeling or Assamese), shut off the heat and steep, covered for a few minutes. Add brown sugar to taste at the end (honey or maple syrup is nice too). Strain into a cup.

I also like making different variations depending what I have at hand. Try adding fresh grated nutmeg, saffron (1 tiny strand), allspice, star anise, or even part of a vanilla bean. I must try the fennel and bay leaves.

I have read that some mixtures have white khas-khas and soanph. Can anyone provide a description of these spices? What do they taste like and what kind of flavouring will they add to the chai?

[Brad S]

Degustion,

I have not used these spices in Chai,but I think they are some type of seeds roasted or not i'm not sure

I would also be interested to learn more about these two spices

[Suvir Saran]

Saunf= Fennel
White Khus-Khus = White Poppy Seeds

And Degustation, your recipe for Chai is what I would make. And I would use Assamese over Darjeeling for it has stronger flavor and works better with spices.
But personally I love Darjeeling leaves the most.

[Degustation]

Suvir - thanks for the translations. So Caped Chef, you had already used saunf in your chai and you didn't even know it. It's a great idea, I must try it. I'm not sure how the white poppy seeds would taste.

[Brad S]

Live and Learn (and hope for translations)

[Suvir Saran]

CHAI
Serves 4

If you are used to commercial chai, you'll find this one somewhat less sweet. I use just enough sugar to bring out the subtle taste of the spices. If you like a sweeter drink, just add more sugar.

2 cups milk
1 cup water
1 1/2 tablespoons loose Darjeeling or Earl Grey tea
6 pearls jasmine tea (jasmine dragon phoenix pearls), optional
1 1/2 inch piece cinnamon stick, broken in half
9 green cardamom pods, opened slightly
7 cloves
1 1/2 inch piece ginger, peeled and cut into chunks
6 black peppercorns
1 tablespoon sugar

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover and let steep 15 minutes.

2. Return to a boil, strain and serve hot.

[Degustation]

Sigh - in coffee shops chai is considered the exotic alternative to a latte...now the thing is the chai martini. In today's Globe and Mail, they outlined the Xacutti (local, hip resto w. bad food) recipe:

ATC (Absolut Vanilla, Tea and Cointreau)

1.5 ounces vanilla vodka
1 ounce Cointreau
1.5 ounces chai

Shake with ice and pour into a martini glass. Garnish with a stick of cinnamon.

[polly]

Yuk! I can kind of understand the flavours of chai and vodka together, but with cointreau as well? Do you think they use milky chai in the cocktail? Surely that would just curdle...

[Degustation]

I don't know about the taste but I don't think milky chai would curdle. Many mixed drinks use milk / cream, for instance - White Russian (vodka, kahlua, cream)