Chai Tea

[Suvir Saran]

How do you make your Chai Tea at home?

What tea leaves do you use?

[Brad S]

http://www.cheftalkcafe.com/forums/showthr...&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)

[SHRIsh777]

How do you make your Chai Tea at home?

Answer: I think majority of the Indian tea making procedure is common and is being driven from the ancient times. Still I will explain the step for you:

• Ratio: The ratio of milk & water which I find perfect for 200 ml cup of tea is is having 3/4 cup of milk & 1/4 of water (obviously you should add more water as we need to boil it)
• Boiling water: I start by keeping a normal steel vessel over gas with high flame & start the heating process till the water starts boiling, as soon as water starts boiling I lowers the flame
• Tea powder & Sugar: I put 1.5 tea spoons of tea powder & 1 tea spoon of sugar immediately & allows it to boil with the water thoroughly till the color of water becomes dark & a soothing fragrance of tea comes from it
• Milk: In the meanwhile of boiling water I also keep raw milk for boiling (I use cow milk) & stops after the milk starts pouring out
• Milk with Water: As soon as the water with tea powder & sugar is boiled thoroughly I mix milk in it. The boiling process is slowed also I keep the flame in lower power. As soon as the whole mixture starts boiling & comes out of the vessel, I stop the gas stove & pour the hot & fresh tea in a cup.

What tea leaves do you use?

Answer: Personally I like Darjeeling Tea very much & I use the same for daily purpose. Earlier I used to order teas from local tea store & the brand never mattered. But now I prefer online tea of premium brands.

[Bhukhhad]

Tea 

 

First Things First: 

Tea in India is traditionally made with black tea, and I use the Orange Pekoe cut black tea that is available in the market in the USA. In India we used brands like Wagh bakri/ Girnar or BrookBond Red Label tea. Strong tea for the morning. 

1. Plain tea with milk

 

3/4 cup of water per person. 

1 t loose leaf black tea

less than 1/4 cup warmed milk

 

Heat the water in container. When it comes to a boil, add the milk. Heat till the mix rises. Turn OFF the heat and add the tea leaves, cover and let steep. In about a minute you can stir the tea with a spoon. If the brew color and fragrance are appropriate, you can sieve the tea and pour it into cups to enjoy. 

If it is light, then you can turn on the heat and boil it for thirty seconds. Remember the bitter tannins generate from the tea leaves after steeping so hesitate to boil. 

Instead if you like stronger tea, I would suggest adding more tea leaves earlier. Or if using teabags, use two instead of one. If I use lipton, Brook Bond or  tetley brands I always take two teabags per cup. 

 

2. Masala tea

 

Here measure 1 cup of water per person because you will boil it down to 3/4 cup per person after adding the masala. 

The ‘masala’ in the tea can be made up of either one or two or a mixture of certain spices. However I am always amused that the one spice which we never ever added to Indian tea is Vanilla, and that was originally the starbucks vanilla chai latte flavor! It was quite distasteful at first, but do you know what, either they changed the formula or we go used to it!!

Anyway the most common tea masala that you can find in the Indian stores can also be made at home. 

Take one teaspoon powdered ginger

3 small seeds of cardamom (not pods)

crush together and keep in a jar. 

When making tea, add a pinch to the water as you start to heat it. You can add more or less as you prefer. Boil this masala with the water and THEN add milk and tea leaves later. 

 

You can substitute fresh grated ginger for the powdered variety. Start with smaller quantities. You can substitute mint leaves for ginger and cardamom, or cinnamon instead of anything. In the northern regions of India fennel is sometimes the masala in the tea. Or even ajwain or carom seeds (though I dislike that taste in tea). 

 

Hope this will help you to make Indian masala Chai at home. And since we are more similar than different, when I say ‘Indian’, I would most certainly include all of the neighboring countries as well. Our tastes unite us in more ways than one. 

Bhukkhad

 

 

[Darienne]

I hope this is only the beginning...

[Okanagancook]

Me too!

[kayb]

I love masala tea. Will try your method! Thanks!

[stephen129]

Does anyone know if these recipes are similar to the ones you get in coffee shops? I'm trying to recreate what I get in places like Pret a Manager (in the UK).

 

Is the only way to do it with whole spices? Are there any teabags that would be comparable?

 

I bought some Monin Chai syrup, but it only really has syrupy sweetness, not the nice flavour from the spices.

[Bhukhhad]

58 minutes ago, stephen129 said:

Does anyone know if these recipes are similar to the ones you get in coffee shops? I'm trying to recreate what I get in places like Pret a Manager (in the UK).

 

Is the only way to do it with whole spices? Are there any teabags that would be comparable?

 

I bought some Monin Chai syrup, but it only really has syrupy sweetness, not the nice flavour from the spices.

Stephen129

I don’t have experience with Pret a Manger but the Starbucks ‘Chai tea latte’ has the addition of ginger and vanilla syrups to give it what they think is ‘masala’ taste. Its completely wrong to have vanilla there. But do you know what? Despite my initial gag response to vanilla in chai, I have grown to tolerate it. If I am needing a chai boost and am away from home, I sometimes get this and its OK, though too sweet. 
Here is a suggestion: 

1. Try brewing a cup of tea with three Types of tea bags: 

Two teabags of black tea like Tetley or PG Tips (from what I remember of UK trips) or Yorkshire gold  (2/1 depending on how strong you want the tea). 
Plus One tea bag of ginger tea (you get all sorts these days for herbal teas)

 

or Two teabags of black tea and One of peppermint. 

 

or Two teabags of black tea with One of cinnamon
You can also substitute any of these flavors of syrup Ginger/Peppermint/Cinnamon instead of the herbal teabags. 

In my cup the addition of milk is a must. You can choose per your taste. 
Bon Appetite!

Bhukhhad