Spices for making Indian masala tea. Masala Tea Recipes – Season generously and brew wisely. Masala tea recipe with unground spices
Masala tea has a unique taste! It is best to cook it in an enamel teapot and leave for at least two hours.
First you need to familiarize yourself with the basic recipe for preparing masala tea, and then you can experiment with flavors. Making masala tea is a whole happy ceremony that you can perform at home with great pleasure.
And for an invigorating morning, I recommend preparing it for breakfast.
The special taste of this tea is given by the correctly selected composition and proportions.
Masala tea ingredients : Assam tea – 3 bags, fresh ginger – 8 cm piece, cinnamon stick – 1 pc., vanilla pod – 1 pc., vanilla extract – 1 tsp, cloves – 6 buds, cardamom – 5 pcs., star anise – 2 stars, fennel seeds - 1 tsp, anise seed - 1 tsp, nutmeg - 0.5 tsp, milk - 3-4 tbsp, honey - to taste, water - 3 tbsp.
How to make masala tea
: Cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom, fennel seeds and aniseed need to be crushed. Ginger root - peel, wash and grate, cut the vanilla stick and remove the seeds for tea. Then you need to put all the ingredients, except assam tea, into any container with a lid. Cover the container with a lid and shake to mix everything until smooth, leave overnight. Then the next day you can prepare masala chai. To do this, boil water in a saucepan, add Assam tea to the boiling water and cook it over low heat for 5 minutes. Then add the rest of the masala chai ingredients except honey and milk. Cook for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to low and cook for another 15 minutes. Now pour in the milk and bring the tea to a boil, making sure that the milk does not escape. When the milk foam rises, remove the saucepan with masala tea from the heat, the foam will settle, and then put the saucepan back on the fire, repeat this procedure 3 times, then remove the saucepan from the heat completely.
Add honey to the masala tea to your taste, strain through a strainer and pour into cups, serve hot immediately to the table.
You can also prepare masala tea by purchasing a set of pre-selected spices from a tea shop. This type of tea usually comes with instructions for preparation, so you prepare the tea according to the instructions, adding honey or sugar at the end.
But still, when you learn how to prepare masala tea, I recommend that you independently select the composition to your taste, focusing on your preferences in the choice of herbs and spices.
After all, the highlight of this tea is the spices, which I recommend you buy fresh, if possible. If some ingredients are not available fresh, then you can replace them with dried ones.
When choosing your composition for masala tea, you need to take into account that you must add cloves, cardamom and ginger to the tea - these are the main ingredients of masala tea.
There are several other ways to prepare chai oil.
You can mix water and milk in a saucepan, put it on the fire and boil, then add chopped spices to your taste and sugar, stir and remove from the heat. Cover the saucepan with a lid, after 10 minutes add black tea. Put the saucepan back on the fire, boil, reduce heat and cook for 5 minutes, remove from heat.
Strain the tea and pour into mugs, serve immediately.
You can prepare masala tea like this : put 4 tsp in a saucepan. black tea, add water (1 tbsp.), bring to a boil and cook for 2-3 minutes, the tea has already brewed, you need to remove the saucepan.
Meanwhile, peel the ginger, grate it, chop a cinnamon stick, seeds from 3 cardamom pods and 3 clove buds.
Pour 2 glasses of water into another saucepan and put on fire, boil and pour brewed tea into boiling water from another saucepan, add the prepared spices, after a minute remove the saucepan from the heat, strain the tea, add milk and honey to taste, serve hot.
Can you make masala tea like this? . Peel the ginger, grate, chop a cinnamon stick, seeds from 3 cardamom pods, 3 cloves, put the spices in a saucepan and pour 2 cups of boiling water, put on fire and boil for 5 minutes. Add milk and honey to taste; when the tea boils, remove the saucepan from the heat, strain and serve immediately.
Enjoy your tea!
Masala tea is a famous drink from the far eastern countries. It became popular not so long ago, which is why it is still gaining popularity among tea lovers. Initially, the benefits and harms of this drink were examined in both England and India. Previously, the tea drink was milky, but then they began to prepare it with spices. How to brew masala tea at home?
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Tea composition
Pleasant reviews of the drink indicate the usefulness of its components. Microelements that are included in the tea itself:
- Copper, calcium, potassium and manganese.
- Vitamins B, E, A, C.
- Zinc, magnesium, sodium, phosphorus and iron.
The recipe for masala tea is similar to other types of this drink. The features of such a tasty infusion impress many, as evidenced by positive reviews.
Benefits of the drink
Masala tea has benefits for the human body. The decoction can safely be called a real medicine. The beneficial properties of tea are truly impressive:
- Often used for effective treatment or prevention of tuberculosis and heart disease.
- Indian tea can cure colds or viral infections.
- Used to prevent vascular pathology or anemia.
- The benefits for the body are also visible when a person suffers from vitamin deficiency, various diseases of the nervous system, stomach, and intestines.
If you prepare a drink with spices and ginger, it will certainly invigorate and give you strength no worse than the strong coffee you are used to. When saffron or mint is added to the infusion, it is wonderfully relaxing and helps you sleep after a hard day of work and stress.
Masala tea and its composition help to quickly get rid of excess weight, remarkably satisfy the feeling of hunger and warm you up in severe frosts. The benefits and harms of the drink are known to everyone who loves this drink. It is contraindicated to drink an infusion with a high concentration and for those who suffer from unstable blood pressure.
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Preparing the drink
How to prepare delicious and aromatic tea? There are various recipes that delight with their taste and aroma. The classic version of cooking with milk is quite simple. You will need the following ingredients for two people:
All spices must be thoroughly crushed in a special mortar to a regular powder. Mix the finished mixture with tea leaves. Place all the ingredients in a container to brew the tea over the fire. Add 100 ml of ordinary clean water there. How to cook properly? Bring the mixture to a boil, and then pour hot milk into it. Add a small amount of sugar and then remove the drink from the stove. The broth must be mixed thoroughly.
For masala tea, it is ideal to add mint and vanilla to the composition, which is an ideal and pleasant addition to the winter diet. Reviews indicate that this drink is particularly popular.
How to prepare tea according to this recipe? Preparation requires the following ingredients:
You can create your own masala tea recipe. To create a masala chai recipe, you need to select spices to suit your taste. There are general recommendations that we will look at. Masala tea has a warm, spicy taste. In India, masala tea is consumed at any time of the day.
This drink is drunk not only during meals, but is widely offered in stores to attract customers and in any cafes. Masala tea is very suitable for consumption during cold winter days and during cold and flu season.
It is recommended to take masala tea in the morning or in the first half of the day when you are in a sluggish mood, drowsiness, to raise your overall tone. It's good to have a cup of masala tea instead of coffee. You will feel a surge of vigor and energy.
There is no single recipe for making masala chai. Each region or family has its own favorite method of preparing tea. However, it is necessary to follow general recommendations and observe the proportions of water, milk, and also not to overdo it with spices.
The best ratio of water to milk is 2:1, but you can use 3:1 or 4:1, depending on your taste. Readers are offered two options for preparing tea. Try both, whichever you like best.
Masala tea preparation method No. 1
In this recipe, water is boiled first, then milk is added. Let's look at everything in detail. In my opinion, this is the best way to make masala chai. Spices have time to fully reveal their taste. Important! Before using spices, they should be crushed by hand, with a knife or a special grinder.
If you do not use ready-made powders, then mash green cardamom pods and cloves, finely chop fresh ginger root, grate nutmeg, and crush cinnamon sticks.
Ingredients
- Water 3 glasses
- Milk 1 glass
- Cloves 3-4 pcs.
- Nutmeg 1-2 pinches
- Ground cinnamon 2 pinches
- Cardamom 2 pinches or 3 green pods
- Fresh ginger about 0.5 tbsp. or 2 pinches of powder
- Black tea 1 tsp.
- Sugar 2 tsp. (to taste)
Making masala tea
Separately, boil water in a saucepan or ladle, add all the spices to it, let it simmer for 2 minutes. Then add tea leaves to the water with spices and leave for 3-4 minutes. It is not recommended to boil tea leaves. Although some recipes do this.
Add milk and bring to a boil until bubbles form, but do not boil. Add sugar at the end. The masala tea should be strained before serving. You can change the ratio of water and milk, for example, in a ratio of 2:1. It's to taste. For spiciness, you can add a little black or lemon pepper.
Masala tea preparation method No. 2
In this recipe, spices are added to milk.
Ingredients
- Water 2 glasses
- Milk 1 glass
- Green cardamom pods 5 pcs.
- Star anise 1 star
- Cloves 3-4 pcs.
- Lemon or allspice 2 pinches
- Ginger 0.5 tbsp. fresh or 2 pinches of powder
- Nutmeg pinch
- Cinnamon pinch
- Sugar 2-3 tsp.
Preparation
Pour a glass of milk into a ladle and boil. Add all the spices and sugar to the hot milk. Sugar is believed to help bring out the flavor of spices. Let the milk boil for a minute or two. Then set the milk ladle aside. Separately brew black tea. The result is a fairly strong brew.
Boil water in a hotel bowl, bring to a boil, add tea leaves and let sit for five minutes. Pour milk with spices into brewed tea. Strain through a strainer and serve.
How to prepare spice mixture for masala chai
You can prepare a mixture of spices for tea in advance. To do this, mix all the spices and add a pinch of the mixture to a cup of tea. All spices should be ground or purchased ready-ground in powder form.
Composition of masala tea
- Ground cinnamon 1 pinch
- Ground nutmeg 1 pinch
- Ground cardamom 2 pinches
- Black/lemon pepper 1 pinch
- Ground cloves 2 pinches
- Ground ginger 1 tsp.
Store the mixture for making masala tea in a glass jar in a dry place and use as needed. By choosing spices to your taste, you can create your own masala tea recipe.
Text: Evgenia Bagma
Masala is a spicy tea, the love for which begins for many from the very first sip. The piquant combination of Indian spices and hot milk will appeal to many lovers of exotic drinks.
How to prepare masala tea?
Essentially, masala is a set of spices. That is, “masala chai” is a set of spices for Indian milk tea. The amount and types of spices may vary, since there is no fixed combination of them, but there are basic spices traditionally used for this drink. Traditionally, “warm” spices are added to masala tea - for example, cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, black pepper, fennel seeds. Cardamom usually dominates, complemented by cloves. You can also use fresh ginger instead of dried ginger. Other possible ingredients for masala tea may include nutmeg, licorice root, saffron, almonds, and rose petals. You can also replace any spices to your taste - for example, take nutmeg instead of cloves, and saffron instead of cinnamon. A set of spices for masala tea can be prepared either independently or purchased in powder form in special stores.
It is believed that strongly brewed masala tea can stop the feeling of thirst or hunger. More nutmeg in tea has an invigorating effect; this drink can easily replace morning coffee. Drinking masala tea also normalizes digestion, improves immunity, helps with colds, and helps lift spirits.
Masala tea recipe
Ingredients: 1 liter of milk of any fat content, 3 tsp. black leaf tea, sugar or honey, spices - cardamom, cinnamon, ginger root, allspice, cloves, nutmeg, anise.
Preparation: Soak black tea in cold water for a couple of minutes to swell. Grind all the spices properly - for example, in a coffee grinder. Cardamom can be ground instead of peeled. Grate the ginger. If fresh ginger is not available, use dried ginger powder. Rinse the pan with cold water to prevent the milk from burning. Pour milk into the pan, add sugar or honey, and swollen tea. Bring the milk to a boil. Add all the spices and ginger. Reduce heat to low and simmer the tea for 3-5 minutes. Once the mixture is creamy, remove the pan from the heat, cover tightly and let sit for 5 minutes. Strain the drink into cups.
If masala tea itself seems unusual or very spicy to you, you don’t have to drink it in its pure form - first add a little to your morning coffee or black tea.
The history of the legendary drink dates back to ancient times. The world-famous masala tea, or tea with spices, appeared in India many years before the British arrived on the peninsula. It managed to gain and maintain great popularity thanks to its healing properties, thanks to which the drink helps get rid of digestive problems, insomnia and lack of energy.
Indian tea with spices
Many people think that masala is a tea that has passed through the centuries only because its recipe was kept by the leaders and those close to them, who had great power. But this is not true at all. In India, masala (tea) is considered the drink of the uneducated and poor. It is prepared in village dhabas for rickshaw pullers and the urban poor.
A respectable Indian, who is asked about such a drink, may answer that in India they do not drink tea with spices at all. Decent restaurants in India also do not include masala tea on their menu. But despite everything, the drink stands on a par with the most popular Indian travel brands.
A little history
Masala (tea) gained its popularity in the second half of the 19th century, when the British, who appeared on the peninsula at that time, began to use it as a medicine. The Indian Tea Association, which by the beginning of the 20th century was already a well-known supplier of tea, began to expand its production with renewed efforts. To save money on workers and at the same time get maximum results, they were given weak and not very sweet milk tea. After some time, tea peddlers diversified the taste of the milk drink by adding traditional Indian spices to it. A new drink with an unusual taste and aroma quickly spread among the population and gained extraordinary popularity not only in India, but also abroad.
Another hypothesis suggests that modern masala (tea) is a “descendant” of karhi, a traditional Indian drink that was prepared from hot milk, herbs and spices.
Variations of Indian tea
There is no single accepted, traditional recipe for masala tea, just as there is no classic taste. For example, in the south of India, the taste of tea is not entirely spicy, since a little cardamom and a piece of ginger are added to it. The northern version is fatty and sweet due to the addition of yak milk. In the east of the country, tea is particularly spicy and pungent. Residents of Bariguda prepare an incredibly scalding drink by adding ginger root powder, hot pepper, and cardamom.
Very tasty tea is brewed in the Harichandra region. Here he is popular only in the society of ragamuffins and beggars. A respectable Hindu will never drink tea with spices at a chaiwalla, because it is considered indecent. But travelers enjoy visiting tea vendors and enjoying the strong, spicy taste of the milk drink.
Main Ingredients of Masala Tea
There is no uniformity in preparing tea with spices, both in methods and ingredients. Each Indian family has its own original secrets that tell them how to prepare masala (tea). But despite the different recipes, there are still components that determine the beneficial properties of the drink; you cannot do without them.
This miraculous energy drink gets its piquant taste from cardamom, cloves, ginger, and black pepper. In some versions, a little almonds, rose petals, and licorice root are added. The milk drink gains all its strength thanks to the combination of spices that are added to it.
Actually tea
Tea is an essential component of this drink. Traditionally, cheap varieties are used - mamri. Chaiwallas often say that if you use loose leaf tea, the taste will not be the same. Mamri, crushed and fermented, releases the maximum amount of coloring and aromatic substances when brewed. In addition, it contains almost no tannins and tannins. The cheapness is explained by the fact that it is produced from substandard tea leaves, which are not suitable for making high-grade tea.
Experts say that when buying mamri, you need to pour a little tea into your palm, roll it over the granules with your finger and blow it off. The excellent quality of the product should be evidenced by the absence of tea dust on the palm. Masala tea is prepared from cheap mamri because a decent leaf tea will leave a bitterness caused by tannins.
Milk
Buffalo milk is traditionally used to prepare masala (tea) in India. Due to the limited number of cows there, their milk is very expensive, and very rarely does it reach poor areas. Street cows, or rather not cows, but zebu, are almost never used for milk production. In the Himalayan region, yak milk is used. Since we don’t have buffalo, yak, or zebu milk, we can take cow’s milk. But you need to understand that the fat content in it is several times lower than in Indian. Our milk from the supermarket is not entirely suitable for masala tea, since it is very low-fat. Homemade milk will work well, but the proportion with water is not 1:3, as is served in Indian chaiwalla recipes, but 1:1.
Spices
Spices are an essential component of a milk drink. Masala tea is prepared from a mixture of spices called karkha. Each chaiwalla has its own set, in which the obligatory ingredients are ginger and green cardamom. As a rule, cinnamon is not added to the mixture, but a stick is placed at the bottom of the cup. Carhu often includes cloves, anise or star anise, masse, black pepper, coriander, and nutmeg. Less commonly, masala (tea) is prepared with the addition of saffron, black coriander, vanilla, and fennel.
A special type of drink is Kashmiri kahuakh. To prepare it, green leaf tea, milk, cinnamon, cloves, saffron and almonds are used.
Often karkha is prepared according to the principles of Ayurveda. Also, the composition of spices depends on the weather. When it’s warm, nutmeg, cinnamon, cumin, ginger, saffron, and pepper predominate. When it's hot - anise, cloves, cardamom, star anise.
Making tea at home
You can prepare masala tea at home. It will not only bring health benefits, but will also surprise you with its unusual taste and aroma. Indian masala (tea) can be prepared in several ways.
For the first recipe, add a little milk and black tea to boiling purified water. Fresh ginger root must first be chopped and nutmeg cut. Add allspice, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom.
It is important that the water boils over low heat throughout the entire procedure. At the end of cooking, add honey or sugar and remove from the stove. In order for the entire drink to be well saturated with spices, you need to pour it from one container to another several times. The tea itself will give you vigor and energy, and the nutmeg will help satisfy your hunger.
Classic masala tea recipe
To prepare classic tea with spices, you will need cheap tea, usually Assamese. You can use honey, syrup, as well as coconut, palm, cane or regular white sugar as a sweetener. In rural India, jaggery is used, which is unrefined and cheap. Without sweetener, the tea will be too bitter due to the spices.
Milk can be either buffalo or regular goat, cow or soy milk. Spices should include cardamom pods and ginger root in masala tea. The recipe may also include the addition of other spices: star anise, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, etc. Sometimes cumin or rose petals are also added to tea. In the West, vanilla, chocolate, condensed milk, and ice cream are also added to masala tea. How to brew it? There are also several possible answers to this question. You can use rooibos or regular green tea, but it will be a Kashmiri drink.
Preparing masala tea
The recipe for making the drink can be interpreted in your own way and spices can be added to it to suit your taste and liking. For this cooking method you will need milk and water in a 2:1 ratio, black leaf tea, and spices. The drink itself is prepared from green cardamom (10 pcs.), ground cinnamon (1 tsp), chopped nutmeg (pinch), ginger root, black cardamom and cloves. First of all, prepare the mixture. To do this, peeled ginger root is grated, cardamom is peeled, nutmeg, cloves and allspice are ground in a coffee grinder. When a mixture of two glasses of milk and a glass of water boils on the stove, you need to add a mixture of spices and cook for a few more minutes, add sweetener and stir. The loose leaf tea is added at the very end, after which the mixture is boiled a little more.
This recipe requires black cardamom, which is quite difficult to find. It will give the tea a smoky flavor. You can often find masala tea mixtures in stores that include other spices.
Cooking features
You don't need any special skills to make a particularly delicious masala tea. The composition of the drink may vary depending on individual preferences. It is important to know some secrets with which you can make a drink unique.
The fullness of taste and aroma can be revealed only by preparing masala tea correctly. How to brew it? Add enough loose leaf tea. The drink must be strong, otherwise it will just be tea with milk, which will not bring any pleasure. The fat content of milk plays a big role. Tea will be delicious if you add milk with a high percentage of fat content. There is no need to add any spices, as they may not combine with each other and ruin the drink. Depending on the cooking time, different ingredients are added. If you are going to drink the drink in the morning, it is better to use invigorating spices to give the body a boost of energy. In the evening, tea should be relaxing and soothing, so the spices need to be selected accordingly.
Beneficial properties of masala tea
During its existence, Indian masala tea has long gone beyond the borders of the country and gained enormous popularity throughout the world. It is rightfully considered the hallmark of India. In addition to its extraordinary taste and specific aroma, the drink has a beneficial effect on human health. Masala tea, the beneficial properties of which provide the body with energy, is in demand in different countries of the world.
Firstly, the drink has a good effect on metabolism. It can replace a morning cup of coffee, as some of the spices included in its composition have an invigorating effect and give strength for the whole day. It is believed that the drink has a positive effect on the immune system, so experts recommend drinking masala tea for colds. The benefit of the drink lies in the vitamins it contains. Its beneficial substances help cleanse the blood, thereby improving a person’s appearance. Also, the milk drink has a good effect on the cardiovascular system. Masala tea is also taken as a prophylactic against tuberculosis, as it contains proteins, fats, and minerals. It is also drunk for disorders of the digestive and nervous systems and for anemia. Masala tea, the properties of which depend on its composition, has a positive effect on human memory.
Each type of spice performs its own function in the drink. When combined, they saturate the tea with vitamins and minerals. Cardamom improves memory and increases appetite. Cinnamon lowers temperature and helps get rid of urinary problems. Cloves cleanse the liver of toxic substances.
Contraindications
Speaking about the side effects of the drink, it can be noted that they are practically absent. Since masala tea has spread throughout the world, apart from its beneficial effect on the human body, exquisite taste and aroma, it has become famous for nothing else. The only warning is that due to the spices that are included in its composition, the drink should be consumed with caution by those who have an allergic reaction to one or another type of ingredient. In this case, the product can be either excluded altogether or replaced with something else.
Masala tea is currently available for sale in almost all specialized stores. You can also order it on websites. In addition, you can prepare it yourself. Having purchased the ready-made mixture, you only need to correctly calculate the proportions of milk, water, spices and tea.
Every person should try masala tea at least once in their life. Its taste cannot be compared with anything else; it is impossible to confuse it. Once you try the spicy milk drink, you will come back to it again and again.
