Masala Chai with a Hint of Romance| Recipe
Non-traditional rose Indian inspired masala tea recipe
The word chai means tea, so “chai tea” is repetitive. Hint, the name chai latte or “tea” latte.
This recipe is inspired by my coworker who once made me this Indian tea. It was so tasty that I learned how to make it, and of course added my own twist to it. This tea is a perfect breakfast for Fall and goes well with light pastries.
Here is the link to the printable recipe.
What do I need? (make ~ 2 servings)
Feel free to double even triple for a bigger batch.
- 3 fresh thinly slices of ginger
- 2 tbsp of sugar (more or less, up to your preference)
- ¼ tsp of cardamom powder
- 2 chai tea bags (for loose leaf, 3 tsp)
- 2 cups of milk (can be subst. with soymilk)
- ¼ tbsp of rose water
- Couple of dried rose petals (optional)
How to?
Into a medium size pot, add in ginger, sugar, cardamom powder, and 1 cup of water. Bring it to a boil or until all the sugar is dissolve. This steps help bring out the spices flavor.
Add in the tea bags, reduce the heat to low, and let it simmer. If the tea bags ended up bursting open, don’t worry. You can always filter it at the end.
For loose leaf version, just add the loose leaf tea into tea bags or tea steeper.
After 5 minutes, add 2 cups of milk and stir. Bring it back to a boil.
Once boil, turn off the heat and remove from stove. Add in the rose water and rose petals.
Serve! To create a nice froth, pour the tea between two cups in the air over and over until the tea is frothed to your desired taste. About 4–5 times was good for me. This technique is called pulling tea, often used to make Teh Tarik (“pulled tea”), a Malaysian milk tea.
This rose masala chai tea taste just as good warm/hot. However, if you are a ice cold drinker like me, let it chill in the fridge and serve it over ice. Another option is to serve it over ice with boba, making it a masala chai boba. ;)
Tips and Tricks (Advices :P)
Loose leaf tea and black tea option:
Using loose leaf tea will results in a stronger tea flavor. If you do use loose leaf tea, add 3–4 tsp. If you can’t find chai tea, you can definitely substitute it with black tea loose leaf or tea bags. However, I would recommend adding about ¼ tsp of the following spices: cardamom powder, cinnamon powder, and a 3–4 whole peppercorns to the water at the beginning.
Where to find ground cardamom powder:
I found my at Sprout Farmer Market, but you can find this spice in Indian or asian store. Cardamom is a very common spice used in Indian cuisine and they comes in three different color: black, green, and white. Green and black are the two most natural ones while white has been bleached to remove the color. Each color produces a slightly different flavor.
Try to find the green cardamom ground because they have a stronger and vibrant color and is a better suite for tea and baking. The black cardamom taste more smokey and are a better fit for savory dishes like curries and meat. The Kitchn.com did a comparison between the three.
If you can’t find ground cardamom. Just make your own and it will taste better too. It is not as complicated as you may think. Here is a link to direction on how you can make your own ground cardamom.
Unfortunately, I was unable to locate green cardamon. :( I was only able to find the ground cardamon and the list of ingredients doesn’t tell me whether it was green or black cardamon. Base on the description on the bottle for the usage and the color, I am pretty confident it is ground black cardamon. This is what I used in my recipe and it tasted great. However, I do notice a smoky flavor in the tea though. 0.0
Where to find rose water:
You won’t be able to find rose water in the baking aisle. Since it is often used in mix drinks, make sure to double check the mixed drinks aisle, the same as where all the other cocktail bitters are located.
Milk substitution option for those who are dairy-free:
I have tested this recipe with almond milk and I have to said it is not as creamy and delicious as it tasted when make with 2% milk. If you can, full fat cow milk is the way to go. However, for those who are lactose intolerance, substitute the milk with soy milk or goat milk.
Education Time
credit: wikipedia and the spruce
Masala chai is a black tea made with many common Indian spices: cardamon (the main spice in this recipe), ginger, peppercorn, cloves, cinnamon, etc... This type of tea is originated in India, in a region called Assam.
Surprisingly, the original masala chai is not made with tea leaves, but instead with only spices. It wasn’t until the mid 1830s, when British East Indian tea company in fear of China huge tea monopoly set up tea plantations in Assam. Since then, black tea leaves are added to masala chai. However, black tea exports made the price too expensive for a majority of the Indians. Therefore, Indians started to dilute the tea with milk and added spices. Thus, the modern masala chai tea was born.
Masala chai tea becomes very popular in the late 1900s, when black tea was more affordable. This type of tea are often serve in Indian cuisine and especially Indian Buffets, so make sure you try some next time you are at an Indian restaurants.
Fun Facts
- The word “chai” originated from China, influenced by the Chinese word for tea “cha”.
- The word “chai” also mean tea in Czech, Turkish, Russian, Sanskrit, and Farsi.
- Tea is consider as herbal medicine in Indian culture, which is why there many healthy benefits spices in the tea. Ginger has anti-inflammatory properties and is high in antioxidants. Cardamom is diuretic, detoxifier, and can even lower blood pressure.”
