Masala Chai anyone?

[NulloModo]

I have always been a fan of Indian style Masala Chai.

Recently I figured, why not make my own spice blend for it.

This is what I used:

Four or five cardamom pods (green)
couple sticks of cinnamon
several crushed cloves
several crushed black peppercorns
pinch of saffron threads

I simply boil some water, remove from heat, put into a mug and let the spices steep in the mug for a bit. After about ten minutes I strain out the bits and add a bit of heavy cream and some Splenda. Quite tasty, IMO. Anyone else make their own spiced teas? What do you use if you do?

[Heidi3]

yum!!!!!

that sounds wonderful!!! I had not thought of it either thanks...I do my own curries but why not do the chai!!!

[scott123]

My masala has nutmeg. And I've been experimenting with both fresh ginger and powdered ginger, since ginger appears in so many of the mixes you buy.

A little good quality vanilla extract is nice too.

Chai masala goes nicely with hot chocolate as well.

[SkinnySoon]

Oooh.... you just reminded me that I have "India Tea" (marsala tea)imported from India sitting in my cupboard. I'm gonna make some. It's been a long time.

I'm too lazy to make my own when I can buy it in teabags.

[FeistyBrumby]

I loooove making chai.... boiling it up on the stove. I think I had about six cups today!

I put ginger and grated nutmeg in with mine too
:yummy

[2big4mysize]

so there is no tea in this tea?

[NulloModo]

No, there is usually tea as well. I believe the Masala parts translates to spice, and the chai to tea, so I suppose I just drink cups of masala .

[scott123]

so there is no tea in this tea?

Nullo's right, chai is Hindi for tea and masala means 'spice mix'

By the names of the products in my Indian grocer, I'm guessing Chai Masala is "spice mix for tea" and Masala Chai is "spiced tea,' the first word becomes an adjective rather than a noun.

And then there's the term chai (by itself). In India, chai doesn't necessarily denote spiced tea, it can be just regular black tea. We Westerners have co-opted the term chai to mean 'spiced tea.'

And for anyone who buys the mix/bags, you should definitely try making your own. The principal flavoring, cardamom, being very expensive, is almost always lacking in the commercial mixes, making the homemade version far superior.

[FeistyBrumby]

Thanks for the hot tip, Scott :wink I'm going to try making my own once i've got through my pack of Byron Bay stuff.

You don't have to have caffeinated tea either - rooibos is great for Chai. So you can easily make it atkins-phillic and not get any caffeine rush. :icondance