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Sunday, December 16, 2012

Recipe: Masala Chai

Chai tea, also known as Masala chai is a blend of black tea with milk and Indian spices. According to many health experts, this drink is good for you, as it contains powerful antioxidants.

Christmas Idea #2

Great on a cold snowy Christmas day


Water is first boiled together with the spices, ginger and vanilla bean (if you don't have vanilla bean, you can use 1/2 tsp vanilla extract). Then, honey and black tea is added. Usually a strong black tea such as Assam is used. In this recipe, honey is used instead of sugar, hence making this a more healthy as honey contains more nutrients than sugar. It is stated as an optional ingredient in this recipe, you can omit it altogether or just add as sweet as you like it, but I think 1/3 cup of honey is just nice.



I am a girl who loves the smell of spices, so when the spices were boiling away, the kitchen smelt mighty inviting. Martha Stewart's chai tea is mildly spiced and fragrant, with a little heat from the ginger. Personally, I like the taste of cardamom and ginger, so I added a bit more the next few times I made it.



For those who like Taiwanese milk tea, I think you will like this too as this is also a milky tea with a lovely aroma. This is also a wonderful drink to serve after Christmas dinner or with desserts.

Breathe in the lovely aroma of the tea before enjoying




Chai Tea with Milk
Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart
Preparation time:  3-5 minutes
Cooking time: 18 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients
10 whole green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
5 whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
1 piece fresh ginger (about 2 inches), peeled and quartered
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and scraped (or 1/2 tsp vanilla extract)
1/3 cup honey, plus more for serving (optional - depending on how sweet you like it)
4 bags black tea
1 1/2 cups milk (I use full-cream)
3 cups water


1. Place 3 cups water in a small saucepan and add cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, ginger, and vanilla bean and scrapings. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low; simmer until mixture is aromatic, about 15 minutes.

2. Turn off heat and whisk in honey (do not use a metal spoon) and drop tea bags in pan. Let steep for 3 minutes.

3. Strain tea through a fine strainer or a coffee filter into a warmed serving pot.

4. Heat milk in same saucepan over medium-high heat, about 3 minutes. Do not let milk come to a boil because it will separate. Pour into serving pot with the tea, and stir well to combine. Serve immediately, with more honey on the side if desired.


Wonderfully soothing

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I am submitting this to the "Cook Like Martha Stewart" bloghop which I am co-hosting with Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Jocelyn of Riceball Eats. To join, simply cook or bake any recipe from any Martha Stewart websites or cookbooks and blog hop with us for the whole month of December 2012.

Your post must be a current post i.e. posted in December 2012 - please do not link older posts.Please mention Cook like a Star in your post and link back to Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids, Jocelyn of Riceball Eats and Baby Sumo of Eat your heart out.

You can get the HTML code here: get the InLinkz code (Click on the link, copy and paste the HTML code into your blog post where you want the blog hop list to appear. Make sure you are in HTML mode when you paste in the code)

Happy cooking! Do check out the other bloggers recipe below:

32 comments:

  1. I love Chai Latte! I love Masala Chai Latte even more!...hahaha =)

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  2. Such a cold and rainy day today, this is perfect, if only I can have some... I can't drink too much tea or I won't be able to sleep at night.

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    1. Ah ok, u have this problem with all sorts of tea? My parents are ok with black tea but not Chinese tea.

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  3. I love Chai Tea! I sometimes made similar to this too, just love the smell of spices!

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  4. I think I'd enjoy this one too! Though I'm already visualizing what kind of liquor to pour into it to make it a chai cocktail! Ooh and cute teddy bear

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  5. Lovely tea enriched with spices..I can see the kids enjoying the aroma. The cute little teddy couldn't resist too!!:):)

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    1. Hehe yeah, teddy wanted a piece of the Chai Tea action too! :P

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  6. Awww I love the first photo of the cute teddy "drinking" the chai tea. Sounds perfect for a cold day!

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    1. Thanks Jasline! Cute and cuddly teddy certainly does conjure up a warm feeling ;)

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  7. Sounds nice, Yen, i have herard a lot about chai tea, but never tried, guess now's a good time :)

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    1. Really simple... the only ingredient u probably have to go get is cardamoms, think u will have the rest in your kitchen already.

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  8. Flavorful tea. Loved all the spices used

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  9. A chai tea for rainy afternoon, hmmm so warm and nice!

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    1. Recently rain almost every evening, so I make this for my family to enjoy.

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  10. I'm always tossing between chai and coffee! :P But I'll end up having both!!! hehe

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    1. Glad I dont have this problem, cos I dont drink coffee! :D

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  11. Hi Yen,

    I really enjoy seeing how you and your family enjoying this comforting cup of tea. Nice warming shots :D

    Zoe

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    1. Thanks Zoe! It makes me really happy to see my family enjoying the new things I make them.

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  12. Even I can try this recipe.. nice one babe.. thx!:)

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  13. cardamon itu apa? hahaha! But i like to see when baby c and baby d enjoying the tea.. hehehehe!!

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  14. Even though it is warm, I'd love a cup of this! :D

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  15. I must try this tea ASAP! Sounds so yummy & interesting! Sounds great for the cool winter months ! :)

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  16. Hi Baby Sumo, this tea look so delicious and interesting. Thank for sharing the recipe. Best regards.

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  17. Merry Christmas Baby Sumo!

    The tea is a wonderful Christmas drink! Love the cinnamon stick!

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