My Grandma’s Chai
Ba’s Chai Masala
Ba, (my Grandma) like everyones Indian Grandma, was highly committed to chai brewery, She would make a spicy, gingery brew three times a day for the house and also fill a thermos to take to my parents and staff at the supermarket. Us kids were on the chai probably from 6 months (um, don’t do this to your baby!). Definitely not ideal for iron absorption but I’m pretty sure I loved it. (Ba used to make a big batch in bulk - I divided her recipe by 10, so feel free to upscale even to double).
Chai Masala Ingredients:
25g White Pepper
7.5g Black Pepper
2.5g Cinnamon or Cassia bark
10g Cardamom
2.5g Nutmeg
Lightly roast spices in a heavy bottomed pan, cool & grind in a spice grinder or a mortar and pestle. Store in an airtight container to use in your daily brews.
Brewing your Chai:
3C Water
2Tbsp Black Tea
1/4 Tsp Chai Masala
1 -2 Tsp Grated Ginger (Lemongrass and Mint are traditional too)
Bring water to the boil, add milk (this depends what type of milk you use. If you use cows milk then bring this to the boil as well and then strain.
If using plant based milk, you may want to experiment with how much you want to heat the chai once you have added milk. I don’t heat it too much.
Note: A mortar and pestle is a very special way to grind spices as it involves so many senses: the smell with its astonishingly beautiful aroma , movement and rhythm, the sound, beats the grinder in lots of ways. The mortar and pestle is really nice for kids to experience too (don’t fill the mortar and pestle too much for them or it could get messy). However, the grinder creates a really consistent grind so it’s a personal choice. You could begin with the mortar and pestle and finish it off in the grinder or leave it bigger. The taste is the same and with loose leave tea you will need a strainer anyway.
This is a reasonably peppery brew, its really good with ginger but you might like other spices to pop more such as the cardamom or cinnamon. Or you might want to add fennel, just add more of your favourite spices. You could add less pepper and use Horopito leaves which taste very peppery instead.
In terms of snacks to have with chai, spice on spice is hard to beat. Here are some Gujarati classics that are great with a chai: Samosa, Tikki Puri, Paratha, Dhokla, Chevdo, Handvo, Patra, Pakora…There is a great scene in one of my favourite movies, the Namesake where Ashima adds cayenne pepper and peanuts to a bag of cornflakes. That scene captures so much of late 1970’s Indian immigrant life.