Masala Chai

Masala chai is fragrant black tea brewed with aromatic Indian spices, enriched with sweetened condensed milk, and delicious served warm or over ice.

Masala Chai

By Sue Lau | Palatable Pastime

Winter Warm-Up Drinks continues with my recipe of the day, which is for Masala Chai, or Indian spiced hot tea (which can also be served iced).

How Masala Chai is Made

It is made by infusing black teas with aromatic spices and then adding milk and sweeteners. In this particular recipe, I use sweetened condensed milk for a gentler sweetness that completes the tea without having to use regular milk. The bit of heavy cream just bumps the creaminess a bit further (but you could make it without, or add in some non-dairy coffee creamer).

What Kind of Tea Should I Use?

The type of tea I use is black tea (English Breakfast or British Breakfast as the brands call them) or you can also use Ceylon black tea. Earl Gray can also be used but it changes the flavor a tiny bit. You can also make this with orange pekoe and black tea (such as Lipton or Luzianne), but whichever one you like best will work for you.

What to do with the rest of the condensed milk?

Keep the extra condensed milk refrigerated- it will come in handy in things like my Dulce de Leche Iced Coffee which I adore. That recipe also includes a recipe for making cold brew coffee concentrate which you can keep in your fridge for several days, mixing it in equal parts with water to serve, either hot or iced. I mostly do that one with iced coffee.

Are there alternate ingredients?

This can also be made with fresh ginger and also a whole nutmeg- I just happened to be out of fresh ginger today and as for the whole nutmeg- it seems a little overkill to use the entire nut.

Making straining the brew easier

The Bodum pourover pot is new for me and I just love it. I use it a lot so far for straining things like this. And also with the cold brew coffee. I had been using a strainer with paper filters propped over a mixing bowl. But that is such a PITA and if the strainer gets bumped you get grounds back into the coffee and have to start all over again. But the pour over pot eliminates that problem and it’s not very expensive. Plus eco-friendly as it saves on paper filters.

What does chai go with for a meal?

But I hope you enjoy this drink- I love it with Indian food or just a gentle warm drink before bedtime or as a warm breakfast drink instead of the usual coffee. With the Indian food we often go for the fruity yogurt lassi drinks in summer but this one is particularly suited for the cold weather we are having right now.

Other Winter Warm-Up Drinks

This weeks round-up of beverages includes a good variety from my blogging friends, Take a peek!

An Old Fashioned by Books n’ Cooks
Gingerbread Smoothie by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
Malted Hot Cocoa by Our Good Life
Salted Nutella Latte by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
Soursop Soother by A Day in the Life on the Farm
Vegan Date-Sweetened Hot Cocoa by The Baking Fairy

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Masala Chai

Servings: 4
Time: 20mins
Difficulty: easy
Print

Yield: 4 (8 ounce) servings

Ingredients:

4 cups water
4 teaspoons English Breakfast tea or Ceylon Black tea, loose
2 (4-inch) cinnamon sticks
2 star anise, broken
1/2 teaspoon cardamom seeds
1/2 teaspoon whole cloves
1/4 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla powder
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
pinch grated nutmeg

Method:

Bring water to a boil, then add the loose tea, cinnamon sticks, star anise, cardamom seeds, whole cloves, and black peppercorns.
Let steep ten minutes.
Strain tea through a mesh strainer or Bodum pourover pot
Stir together with condensed milk, heavy cream, vanilla powder, ginger, and nutmeg.
Serve hot or over ice.

From the kitchen of palatablepastime.com