Giving chai a try

Don’t mistake this for me purporting to be any kind of expert on masala chai. I’m not – my making of masala chai is purely a result of my greediness and nosiness about all things food. A work colleague and I are often in the office kitchen together at the same time in the morning and I noticed that she always has a reusable coffee cup with her that smells sweet, spicy and divine. Because of the aforementioned greedy and nosey tendencies I had to ask her about it. She not only gave a very helpful run-down of the masala chai in her cup and how she makes it, she also brought in a little package of the tea leaves for me from home and another little package of cardamom. I was tickled pink and very touched! Whoever said greed and noseyness doesn’t pay?

Madhur Jaffrey is a complete goddess and the oracle on Indian cuisine, so of course I turned to her for help when attempting my own masala chai to supplement my recall of verbal instructions from my workmate. Believe me, I am not even pretending that this is my method or that I am some kind of authority! But, if you are interested, this is how I made my chai…

Heat 2 cups of water in a medium sized pot. Add 2 tablespoons of black tea leaves, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 2cm of fresh peeled and grated ginger, 5 cloves, 1 cinnamon stick and 10 grinds of black pepper to the pot. Bring this to a roiling boil and then add the milk – watch it until it foams and rises up in the pot (this is a direct instruction from my workmate and made me nervous – but I watched the pot like a hawk and it turned out better than fine, resulting in a caramel-type colour and flavour).

Turn the heat down and simmer for a further 1-2 minutes. Add a pinch of ground cardamom and stir in. Pour through a strainer into cups and serve.

I am really pleased I gave this a try, it is warming and spicy and delicious, and makes the kitchen smell divine. Special shout out to the generosity of my workmate for her tea, cardamom and knowledge. I’ll be making this again.