Indian recipe
How to make Masala chai
मसाला चाय
All over India
Black tea boiled with milk, sugar and spices such as cardamom, ginger, cinnamon and cloves. Sold in small cups by chaiwalas at stalls and railway stations across the country.
Ingredients
- 300 ml water
- 200 ml milk
- 2 teaspoons loose black tea (Assam is best) or 2 tea bags
- 3 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
- 3 thin slices of fresh ginger
- A small piece of cinnamon stick and 2 cloves
- 2 to 3 teaspoons sugar, to taste
Method
- Put the water, cardamom, ginger, cinnamon and cloves in a small pan and bring to the boil. Simmer for 2 minutes.
- Add the tea and simmer for 1 minute more.
- Pour in the milk and sugar and bring back to the boil, watching carefully so it does not boil over. Let it rise and fall two or three times.
- Strain into cups and serve hot.
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Tea drinking spread widely in India in the early 1900s, when the Indian Tea Association promoted it with tea breaks in factories and support for street tea sellers.
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