Here I want to share my recipe of Masala Chai – the strong, creamy, silky, pungent and sweet tea that has long been a favorite of mine. So I was introduced to this chai which was called Teh Tarik (literally means pulling tea) in my visit to Singapore and Malaysia, immediately fell in love with it and I swear I had it almost every single day in the trip. Fortunately, during my short stay in Ho Chi Minh city for a project after the trip, I got to make friend with a Nepali chef who has spent his 15 years running F&B business in Vietnam, who is also my master of Masala Chai, who made this tea for me and taught me how to create a cup full of heavenly aromatic flavor.
My justification for the title is that I love learning and sharing recipes that are passed down from generation to generation, in my search for Masala Chai's history, I stumbled across this article sharing his knowledge of chai.
"Grandmother, the traditional caretaker of the household, would brew a blend of plant roots, bark and seeds if a family member became ill or as a tonic to stay healthy through the changing seasons. In fact, many of the ingredients now found in a classic cup of masala chai are useful for treating colds, flu, stomach ailments, digestive problems, lung issues and other common maladies. These family recipes were handed down from mother to daughter to granddaughters over generations spanning hundreds of years." - https://chaipilgrimage.com/blogs/journal/8432269-origin-of-masala-chai.
Ingredients: (for a 600ml cup of masala chai)
- A cup of 600ml water
- Black tea: 3 teaspoons
- Cardamom: only 1 pod
- Whole cloves: 2
- Cinnamon: 1 small piece
- Star anise: 1
- Fresh ginger: crush it before use
- Milk: 150ml
- Sweetener: 1 teaspoon
Now roll up your sleeves and roll to the kitchen:
1. Add 1 cup of water and 3 heaping teaspoons of black tea to a pot and put it on medium high heat.
2. When it’s heating, add all spices: cardamom, whole cloves, cinnamon, star anise, crushed fresh ginger in the pot.
3. Once it comes to a boil, add milk and sweetener to taste
4. Stir it as it is boiling
5. Turn off the heat and let it sit for a minute to finish steeping
6. Pour into your cup using a mesh strainer to catch the tea and spices
ENJOY YOUR HOMEMADE CHAI.
