Indian Chai Tea

This chai is the perfect hot drink for being inside on a cold, rainy day. It is packed with powerful spices which make it delicious and warming and bring you a cupful of health-boosting properties.

To name but a few:

• Ginger has been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties and aids digestion
• Cardamon great for heart and teeth health and to fight infections
• Cloves aid digestion and has antibacterial properties and helps boost the immune system
• Black pepper is good for digestion and for cleansing the respiratory system
• Cinnamon is a great anti-oxidant and immunity-boosting spice, and it also helps digestion

 

RECIPE

Type: Vegetarian (can be made Vegan by using plant-based milk)

Approx. Preparation time: 5 mins

Approx. Cooking time: 10 mins

Serves: 2

Ingredients

• Three teaspoons black tea (or three sachets of good quality English breakfast)
• A small piece of Fresh Ginger
• Three green cardamoms, crushed
• Two black peppercorns
• A cinnamon stick, crushed
• A clove
• Three cups water
• One cup cold milk (use plant-based milk to make this vegan)
• Sugar, to taste (start with a tablespoon and take it from there) – you can also use honey instead of sugar if you like

Preparation steps

1. In a mortar, crush the green cardamoms, black pepper, clove and cinnamon – leave the spices aside in a bowl
2. Wash the ginger well, and crush it in the mortar

Cooking steps

1. Put the water in a pan on high heat
2. Add the crushed spices and the ginger bits and juice to the water
3. Leave the water to heat for 3 minutes
4. Add the tea
5. Bring the water to the boil and leave it boiling for a couple of minutes
6. Pour the milk in the pan – because the milk is cold, this will bring the temperature of the pan down
7. Add the sugar (if you are using honey you should add the honey to the cup at the time of serving instead)
8. Bring to the boil again – keep a watchful eye on it as its contents will have a propensity to boil over if left unattended!
9. Once the chai is boiling, lower the heat and leave to simmer for a couple of minutes
10. Pour the chai through a sieve before serving and discard all the bits
11. Serve hot!