Secrets of Masala Chai
October 03, 2009
If you've ever walked into a hipster tea house, watched a documentary on India or are just generally not living under a rock, you've most probably already heard about the wonderful, mysterious, oriental specialty called masala chai.
Well, here's two secrets I have to share with you:
- Chai (or chae, cha, čaj, etc.) is just another word for tea (or tee, thé). Actually from my observations the tea-drinking nations can be divided into "tea"- and "chai"-nations. The former (e.g. UK, Germany, France) have gotten their tea by sea; while the latter are either countries of origin (e.g. China, India, Japan) or nations that have gotten their tea by land (e.g. Russia, Persia, Slovenia). This diversification seems to have originated from the different pronunciation of the same word in different lands/cantons of origin.
- Masala is just a word for spice mix. You can put it into curry or any other dish. Yes, this means that technically curry powder is a masala, while curry is roughly a word for a type of side dish.
So putting two and two together, masala chai is just the local name for spiced tea!
Well, as with all national dishes, it has a vast number of local variations, but all include tea, spices, milk and something to make it sweet.
So here's my easy to make, slightly westernised masala chai recipe:
- Bring water to a pearly boil (i.e. very small bubbles of air are just starting to show up).
- Pour the water over a teaspoon of strong black tea (Assam is the most obvious choice) and half of a teaspoon of garam masala (which you can get ready made in every decent supermarket nowadays) for every cup and leave for 3-5 minutes (I prefer 4,5).
- Strain into your cup(s) and serve with milk and sugar (or honey).
Tip no. 1: this also works quite well if you want to spice up your recycled tea.
Tip no. 2: do not mistake garam masala for tandori masala unless you're into hot stuff!
It's probably not as good as the original, but it's certainly better then what you'll get served in most hipster tea houses or buy as ready made mixes. And it's easy to make.
hook out >> drinking masala chai and studying
Masala Chai
Hi Iam from India and a tea planter turned tea taster.
In India, tea is a customary offering to friends,guests,strangers,anyone.However,Indians like their tea mostly with milk and sugar and it is indeed rare that someone has it without milk and sugar and in its purest form.
Various regions have their own variations of this welcome drink. Masala chai is one of them.As you rightly said, Masala refers to Spice but tea masala is something different from 'garam masala'
Tea masala is basically home made and varies from home to home in North India, mainly in the state of Gujarat. Basically, has dried ginger powder,some cloves,some cardamom, a hint of pepper and some cinnamon.A dash of aniseed also is included in some. Some like to roast the mixture a little and then grind it in a dry grinder.
People here like to brew their tea with water, milk and masala and as the milk thickens, it is taken off the fire to be served.
Try this, you will like this a lot more.
I will also let you onto a secret recipe for making iced tea, no nonsense, no additives, just an awesome drink but only if you help clear an issue of mine.
I have recently invested in an IMac, a Macbook Pro and also possess a HP Laserjet All In One 3055. Also have a linkys wifi router and a regular modem for broadband internet.
Issue is Iam unable to print on wifi, but can do so using a USB cable. However, I cannot scan even while using an USB.
Your help will be appreciated a lot and hey, will even send you some special tea if you can clear this mess for me.
cheers
Chai Mix or Syrup
hi there
i am looking for chai mix. i am able to import the product in bulk from india. please let me know if someone can supply.
thank you
trideep
0861711@gmail.com
I can try
Thanks a lot for your inside knowledge on masala chai. I roughly know how it should be made, but usually don't bother making my own masala, because I (until now) didn't know what exactly to put into it. This is also why I suggested garam masala as a pre-made mix. It's easy to come by and I think it's similar enough to fool the average non-Indian. I'll most definitely try your suggestion.
As far as your printing problem is concerned, although both my printer and OS are slightly different from yours, of course I'm willing to help ...especially with such a sweet bribe as Indian tea ;)
Please drop me an e-mail (see contacts), so we can communicate easier without spamming the comment section too much.