Wednesday 10 December 2008

Chai Tea Recipe

Well, it is a rainy day, so I am hibernating in an internet room, and promissed I would do my chai tea recipe that I found on the net and addapted a little.

Ingredients (provides 4 cups)
1. Water 3 cups
2. Milk 2 cups (50/50 cream is real good for this too, but use 1 cup)
3. Cloves 3-4
4. Cinemon sticks 1 or 2
5. Cardomen pods 4 (1/2 tea spoon if powder form)
6. Black Pepper 4-8 corns (dependent on taste)
7. Ginger (fresh) 8 pea sized amounts (I used way more just for personal taste)
8. Tea 1 or 2 tea bags or 2 tea spoons of black tea. (I find one tea bag is enough)

(If you can find the following ingrediants at an Indian Supermarket, Jhopadpattis, Tamasuic, Shree Ram, then add them! I could not find them)

Instructions

1. Crush spices (items 3-6) together. I used a bean/soup can against the base of the pan because I did not have a pesstle and mortar.

2. Grate ginger into pan, I love to add lots but try just adding 8 pea sized amounts to begin with, approximately a table spoon.

3. Add water and sugar. Sugar is a must even if you generally do not have sugar in your tea. It brings out the flavour in the spices. Boil, then simmer for 2 minutes.

4. Add milk and tea and simmer for 15 minutes, although I got impatient and only simmered for 5 minutes but longer is better.

When I was a loner liveing in my caravan I would not add the milk but simmer the water for 15 minutes with the tea and sugar. Then I would put the tea in a flask, so that I could get instant chai by microwaving some milk and then adding some chai mixture from my flask. For some reason the tea tasted better when I left if for a few hours in the flask.

5. Cieve the chai mixture into cups and drink!

The spell check is in spanish, so can not find my spelling errors, I know there will be some!

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