How to Make the Best Chai

   1.

      Grind together five measures of green/white cardamoms, two measures of black pepper, one measure of cloves, and half a measure of cinnamon.
   2.

      Add one dessertspoon of this spice mix to enough water, in a saucepan, for a pot of tea for two.
   3.

      Add half that amount of milk, plus two (or more) table/soup spoons of sugar, and a lump of grated fresh root ginger about the size of your thumb.
   4.

      Add the tea, preferably black Indian tea, according to the strength you require (two, three, or four teaspoons/teabags).
   5.

      Bring the lot to the boil and simmer till well stewed.
   6.

      Strain and pour into a suitable vessel for serving. 

Ideally chai is drunk from small unglazed earthenware cups.


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So what exactly is Chai?

Chai is simply the Indian name for tea. Traditionally Masala Chai is made with various ingredients, ginger, pepper and cardamom among them, then milk is added and the tea is sweetened with honey or sugar. Properly made Chai is very sweet, with ginger and cinnamon usually being the most prominent spiced tastes. It sounds truly bizarre and disgusting, a spicy tea loaded with sugar, but properly made Chai tastes totally divine, it doesn’t taste “hot“ as you‘d expect it to, but it does make your belly feel all warm in a way no other hot drink does. Its fantastically warming on winter mornings, and it wakes you right up (as you’d imagine pepper and ginger tea might). There are a million and one recipes for making Chai, however I thought I’d share a couple of methods with you.


The slow method

You will need…

Black tea or Assam tea
3 Cloves
A small piece of Cinnamon stick
A pea sized piece of Ginger, crushed (preferably fresh)
One Whole black pepper
3 Cardamom pods (peeled if possible)
Half fat milk (or Soya milk)


In a deep container, add half a cup of milk and a teaspoon of tea to ¾ of a cup of water. Crush the cloves, cinnamon, ginger, pepper and cardamom pods and add to the milk and water. Heat in a pan for 15 minutes, stirring continuously. Add sugar or honey and strain the tea, then drink it. This is definitely the superior way of making Chai, however not all of us have time for this sort of malarkey, so…


The quick method

Buy plenty of the above spices, crush them and keep them in an airtight jar.

When you fancy some Chai, boil a cup of water, add a tea bag of whichever kind of tea you prefer, let it steep for around seven minutes (alternately if your in a hurry add two teabags instead of one and leave for a shorter time), add sugar or honey, the crushed Chai mixture and half a cup of milk, and boil until the Chai takes on a red-brown colour.

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"I meant," said Iplsore bitterly, "what is there in this world that makes living worthwhile?"
Death thought about it.
"CATS," he said eventually, "CATS ARE NICE."
- Terry Pratchett, Sourcery


5 cardamom
2 pepper
1 cloves
1/2 cinnamon
grind

1 dessertspoon of this to enough water for two cups tea
1/2 that amount milk
2 tablespoons! sugar
small lump fresh ginger
2 ? teabags
boil, simmer until stewed