Masala Chai/Indian Spiced Tea

Indian Chai is very famous all over the globe. You can get Indian spiced Chai lattes too in some of the famous food joints. But its nothing like what you get in Northern part of India. Actually I m not a beverage person but on pushy circumstances I choose tea over coffee and  nowadays I have acquired a taste for this masala chai especially this winter has really made me think that a cuppa of chai is more comforting than a warm bowl of mac and cheese (calories!) .
In south we don’t usually make tea with spices instead we opt for simply ginger tea thatz strong yet soothing in a way.  M introduced me to Chai masala that we used to buy back in Dubai. When I shifted to Chandigarh my good neighbor shared the recipe of this awesome Chai masala which I will be sharing soon. But this Masala chai recipe uses fresh blend of spices and doesn’t require chai masala yet has great flavors.

Ingredients:

Milk-2 cups

Tea powder/leaves-1&1/2 tbsp

Sugar-as needed

Cardamom-1 pod

Cinnamon/Casia Bark-1/2 inch

Clove-1

Nut Meg-1 pinch

How it Happened:

1. In a milk pot, add all the ingredients and let it boil in medium flame.

2. When the milk starts to boil, simmer the flame and let it boil for a minute/until it gives out the golden brown desired color.

3. Sprinkle a tbsp of water on top, switch off the flame and cover with a lid. Let it sit for 2 minutes. This helps in the rounding off flavors.

4. Remove the lid, filter the tea and serve hot.

Notes:

* I used the herbal tea leaves. Adjust the tea powder quantity as per your liking. The color depends on the quality of the tea leaves.

* We like our tea thick and creamy so I don’t add water and also I use low fat milk. Otherwise you can add ¼ cup water to 2 cups of full cream milk.

* Adjust sugar according to your taste.

* Feel free to add or skip any spices and experiment with your own ideas.

* There is nothing worse than a tea reheated on stove top. So if you want reheat it, keep it in a pan of simmering water or microwave it for 30 seconds.