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Masala chai: a simple recipe


pateluday

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Come Winter and Masala Chai (Spiced tea) becomes popular in India. Most of the masala chai available in packets are a mix of mind boggling spices. But I make mine very simple. Here is the recipe for tea enthusiasts:

Ingredients:

CTC tea leaf (Assam Black)

Milk
Sugar (To taste)
Cardamom (2/3 Pods)
Shreded Ginger
Clove Powder (1/10 teaspoon)
Jaggrey (1/4 Teaspoon)

Method

Bring water to boil

Add leaves and simmer for two minutes

Strain

Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for another two minutes.

This hot beverage proves to be good during winters for some cheers. It is alo good for people suffering from bad throat.

Edited by pateluday (log)
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I buy the Cardamom Cinnamon "herbal" tea from Republic of Tea.

I add one "tea" spoon (a caddy spoon which is about 1 1/2 teaspoons) to 4 caddy spoons of black tea for a 6-cup pot.

Of if stewing it in milk - I stew the Cardamom Cinnamon first - gently simmering for about 15 minutes and then I add the tea leaves AFTER turning the heat off.

I also use it to make spiced syrup for dressing fruit salads, on baked squash, & etc.

I posted the link to this recipe on Facebook this morning - I use the Cardamom Cinnamon to make it.

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!" Terry Pratchett

 

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Hello- I am curious: What is Jaggrey?

"As life's pleasures go, food is second only to sex.Except for salami and eggs...Now that's better than sex, but only if the salami is thickly sliced"--Alan King (1927-2004)

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Jaggery is pure raw sugar in a "loaf" form, molded, pressed and dried no chemicals used.

Here's a 2.2 pound loaf - I use a very coarse rasp to grate off small amounts. For larger amounts I break the loaf into chunks and either pound it in a mortar or if breaking up the entire loaf, I smash it into chunks that will fit in the meat grinder and process it through that (a manual one that is solid steel).

HPIM5290.JPG

And an online article.

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!" Terry Pratchett

 

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Hello- Thanks for the info. Is Jaggrey similar to the cones of reddish brown sugar I find in ethnic markets? Also, I see a mix of black tea and cardamom in my local Chaldean market, do you think I could use this as a base for masala chai?

"As life's pleasures go, food is second only to sex.Except for salami and eggs...Now that's better than sex, but only if the salami is thickly sliced"--Alan King (1927-2004)

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Yes. Jaggery is just about the same as panela which is easier to find in Hispanic markets.

There is a middle eastern grocery store here that carries it in these big molded loafs but also carries the broken stuff in bags. They used to have it in square slabs but apparently the distributor couldn't get it for a time so they found another supplier direct from India.

The black tea and cardamom can work as a base for masala chai. You need to add star anise, cloves, cinnamon and I like to add some peppercorns.

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!" Terry Pratchett

 

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Thanks again.

"As life's pleasures go, food is second only to sex.Except for salami and eggs...Now that's better than sex, but only if the salami is thickly sliced"--Alan King (1927-2004)

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  • 1 month later...

Haven't tried Jaggery yet with Masala Chai.

But the other ingredients apart from the regular spices for Masala Chai(Cardamon, Ginger, Clove, Cinnamon, and pepper corn) which may also be tried are bay leaves, nutmeg, fennel seed, star anise(metioned by "Society doner" earlier) and sometimes saffron.

<p>A Darjeeling Tea Lover from Darjeeling.

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Nice one. I will try it out.

Come Winter and Masala Chai (Spiced tea) becomes popular in India. Most of the masala chai available in packets are a mix of mind boggling spices. But I make mine very simple. Here is the recipe for tea enthusiasts:

Ingredients:

CTC tea leaf (Assam Black)

Milk
Sugar (To taste)
Cardamom (2/3 Pods)
Shreded Ginger
Clove Powder (1/10 teaspoon)
Jaggrey (1/4 Teaspoon)

Method

Bring water to boil

Add leaves and simmer for two minutes

Strain

Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for another two minutes.

This hot beverage proves to be good during winters for some cheers. It is alo good for people suffering from bad throat.

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  • 5 months later...

Hello- A friend, who is in a position to know such things, claims that an acceptable chai can be made with sugar, milk, tea, cardamom, and cinnamon. Comments?

"As life's pleasures go, food is second only to sex.Except for salami and eggs...Now that's better than sex, but only if the salami is thickly sliced"--Alan King (1927-2004)

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Hello-Does the term "simmer" imply a "rolling boil"? I have seen places that offer a masala chai made with green tea. In my opinion, (if the terms are synonymous) the high temperatures needed for good chai would destroy the delicate flavors of a good green tea.  ...comments?

Edited by Naftal (log)

"As life's pleasures go, food is second only to sex.Except for salami and eggs...Now that's better than sex, but only if the salami is thickly sliced"--Alan King (1927-2004)

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