Is making Tea not your cup of tea?

Indian Tea — Chai, Image by Omkar Hande

What comes to your mind when you think of an inviting cup of tea? First meal of the day? Cozy evenings? Important discussions? or the many lovely characters from the novels of Jane Austen, Charles Dickens or the Brontë sisters? There’s probably no end to this list! Just like it’s use, the recipe of making tea is also extremely versatile. Its almost magical as to how many variations of tea exist with the same 4–5ingredients. One thing is true though, making Chai is everyone’s cup of tea!

Today on International Tea Day, we will be showing you our favourite way of making Chai. So lets begin with what ingredients go into this garam chai ki pyaali:

Ingredients

1. Milk
2. Tea Leaves
3. Water
4. Ginger
5. Sugar, yes please!
6. And the game changer — some Lemongrass, you can buy it here.

Recipe

Making tea is probably the simplest and most hassle free task in the kitchen, and there’s a good chance that you already know the recipe. But as it is said that god lies in details, our attempt here is to bring into your attention the small details that make big difference. The recipe discussed below is for two cups of tea:

• Pour one and half cup of milk into the tea pan. Add another 3/4 cup of water to it. Put the pan on the stove on a low flame
• Add 1 stalk of chopped lemongrass to the mix, continue heating it on a low flame
• Just when the mix starts simmering, add 3 - 4 teaspoons of tea leaves to the concoction, based on how strong you like your tea
• Increase flame to let the concoction to start boiling, you will start noticing the change in colour
• Once boiling, add 1 inch piece of grated ginger and lower down the flame to let it to cool down a bit
• Add 3 – 4 teaspoons of sugar, based on your preference
• Increase the flame again and let the concoction boil for 2 -3 minutes
• Pour it out in cups, using a strainer

And the tea’s ready!

This was our favorite way to make tea, but as mentioned before, there are many other ways to make it. If you like your tea less milky or like it with cardamom or the tea masala that is available in the market, all you gotta do is change the milk- water proportion or replace the ginger/lemongrass with your choice of condiment. And there you have it. George Orwell once said that a nice cup of tea can make you feel wiser, braver or more optimistic after drinking it, so where’s your cup of tea today?

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