Masala Chai

 

The first firelog of the season made its way into our fireplace this past week. Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations are already crammed onto store shelves. I've gotten through my early fall apple obsession. The leaves have finished changing color, and the weather outside is amazing. I like to think of this as the calm before the holiday storm. It's a great time to relax before slamming through potential Thanksgiving and Christmas recipes. And nothing helps you relax more on a cool fall day than a hot mug of tea. In particular, I enjoy masala chair because of its creamy texture and spicy finish.

My mix of masala includes coriander, cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, and cloves. It's an excellent balance of fragrance and spice. If you don't want your chai to have quite as much of a kick at the end, add less black pepper. A masala is a mix of spices that varies from household to household so make it your own!

A note on spices: I get my spices from all over the place- especially farmers markets. Standard grocery stores overcharge spices like crazy: a small 1oz bottle of cinnamon at Publix (my standard stomping ground) can cost anywhere from three to six dollars, depending on the brand, whereas you can get a 3-4oz Tupperware full for a buck or two at a farmers market. The only downside is that it makes for awkward stacking in a spice cabinet. (If you look into my spice cabinet, you can see that I employ the "cram and pray" method of storage!)

If you don't have a tin of loose-leaf black tea on hand, buy some bags of black tea, and then snip the top off the bags and pour out the tea to measure out the leaves. It usually takes me three bags to get one tablespoon of black tea.

 

To make the chai, first bring the water to a boil and then add everything else: the spices, milk, sugar, and tea. For a stronger tea, simmer it for a bitt longer than what the recipe recommends. Once time is up, strain the tea using a fine mesh strainer. You should have a lovely pile of spice goop in your strainer after pouring. If you don't have a fine mesh strainer, try using whole spices instead of ground since they are easier to strain.

This recipe makes two small servings or one large serving. If you find yourself making a lot of chai, you can mix up a large batch of these spices and bottle them for easy use later. Each serving will have about 2 teaspoons of masala. For a cute DIY present, bottle several servings of the masala, tea leaves, and sugar for the chai lover in your life.


Masala Chai   [Makes two small servings or one large serving]

Ingredients:

• 2 cups water
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon black tea leaves
• 1 tablespoon sugar

Directions:

Bring water to a rolling boil. Add whole milk, spices, black tea leaves, and sugar and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes (or longer for stronger chai). Strain tea and spices from chai into mugs using a fine mesh strainer. Serve hot.