The Perfect Cup of Chai

Chai is the quintessential language of love in Indian families. My family are all full of milk lovers so we love a good rich chai. Chai is super personal, everyone has their own tastes and preferences. This recipe how my family likes to make it. We are a super bare bones family. No grated ginger, no fresh tea leaves, no mint, just chai masala and dried leaves!

Speaking of Chai Masala, I made a fresh homemade batch from Piping Pot Curry! I quartered the recipe for my home, but you can easily ramp it up depending on how frequently you make tea at home. I made the masala blend by dumping all of my ingredients into a spice grinder (except the nutmeg) and then grinding into a powder. Don’t worry about the texture, you will be straining the tea anyways so it won’t impact your end result. You can also add in the spices whole if you want as well and steep it in your tea. Serve this up with snacks like chevdo and chakri and you’ve got yourself a fantastic mid afternoon break!

Chai Masala

For the Chai Masala, I made a fresh homemade batch from Piping Pot Curry! I quartered the recipe for my home, but you can easily ramp it up depending on how frequently you make tea at home. I made the masala blend by dumping all of my ingredients into a spice grinder (except the nutmeg) and then grinding into a powder.

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Cook Time 5 minutes mins

Course Spice Blend

Cuisine Indian

Servings 1 quarter cup

Ingredients

  

• 1 tbsp cloves
• 1 tbsp elaichi
• 1 tbsp black peppercorns
• 3/4 tsp fennel seeds
• 1.5 inch cinnamon
• 1.5 tbsp ginger powder
• 1/4 whole nutmeg

Instructions

 

• Grind all ingredients except nutmeg in a spice grinder. Grate nutmeg over final product. Store in an airtight container for upto a month.

Keyword chai, masala, tea

For the actual chai, bring 1/2 cup of water to a boil and add in 1/4 tsp of the chai masala and 1 tbsp of dried chai leaves or black tea. Let that boil for 30 seconds or so then add in 1 cup of any milk of your choosing. If you like a richer tea use whole milk, if you like a more gentle flavor use skim milk.

Once your tea has come to a boil, take it off the heat. The milk will boil over very quickly so as soon as it gets foamy pull it off the heat. Add 1 tbsp of sugar to your tea strainer, and strain the hot tea into your mug or teacup. Shout out to @lovelaughmirch for the tip!

Chai

Nothing is better than a warm cup of chai. This is my family's way of making it, but every family or individual has their own preference. Feel free to riff on this base recipe however you would like!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Course Drinks

Cuisine Indian

Servings 1 large mug

Ingredients

  

Chai

• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 tsp chai masala
• 1 tbsp black tea or dried chai tea leaves
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 cup milk or non dairy alternative

Chai Masala

• 1 tbsp cloves
• 1 tbsp elaichi
• 1 tbsp black peppercorns
• 3/4 tsp fennel seeds
• 1.5 inch cinnamon
• 1.5 tbsp ginger powder
• 1/4 whole nutmeg

Instructions

 

• Boil water, chai masala, and tea leaves for 30 seconds to a minute.
• Add milk and bring to a boil until very foamy.
• Add sugar into strainer and strain the tea into a large mug. Enjoy

Keyword chai, masala, tea