Masala chai । Recipe, Ingredients, Benefits And Side Effects

Masala chai is a popular word in India, as the morning of every Indian people starts with masala chai. Imagine a drink whose aroma and sip will make you happier, and send you into a fantasy world. If this sounds intriguing to you, then you simply must find out what masala chai is!

This is a traditional Indian drink that is drunk everywhere: in rich mansions and slums, in restaurants and street eateries. And chaiwala (tea makers) delight with their ability to prepare magical tea right on the noisy city streets, deftly juggling pots-ladles.

The recipe for masala chai is quite simple, the drink always turns out fantastic – rich, intoxicatingly sweet, teasing the olfactory receptors. Love for this “exotic” is born from the first sips! Masala tea is especially relevant on cold autumn and winter days when there is so little comfort and warmth.

What Is Indian Masala Chai?

Anyone who at least once tries this amazing tea flavored with a bouquet of spices will forever remember its delicious taste, unsurpassed aroma, and amazing invigorating effect. The name “masala” is translated as “a mixture of spices”.

The drink is mainly prepared on the basis of Assam black tea. This component got into the recipe after the British founded a tea plantation in Assam.

For the first time, the benefits of Indian masala tea with the addition of milk and spices were appreciated by slaves. The miraculous liquid not only effectively quenched thirst, but also gave a surge of vitality, and energy, and contributed to an increase in working capacity and endurance.

Masala Chai Ingredients

So what are the ingredients for masala chai? The ingredients for masala chai have a rich composition of spicy Indian masala, a drink is truly amazing! The classic masala chai recipe consists of main five ingredients:

• Black leaf tea
• Milk
• Spices
• Sweetener
• Drinking water

But you can let your imagination run wild and come up with your own variation on how to make masala tea. In India, there are ready-made packs that allow you to quickly and easily enjoy this amazing tea.

It can be a single portion of spices, which are enough to put in tea with milk. Among foreigners, tea bags with spices are popular. They are placed in boiling milk and boiled a little.

Tea

Preference should be given to Indian large-leaf Assam black tea, which is known throughout the world, as it has been grown for several centuries. It has a rich taste, and spicy-floral aroma, which are difficult to kill with spices.

Since there is no traditional recipe for Indian masala tea, not only Assam is used, puerh is also suitable. There are even exotic drinks brewed on the basis of a ready-made pack like tata tea masala chai or girnar masala chai. So in the Indian state of Kashmir, they make Kahwa with green tea.

Milk

Initially, tea was prepared on the basis of buffalo milk (it is a viscous, high-calorie liquid, odorless, and pleasant in taste). Nowadays, cow’s milk is used everywhere.

Buffalo milk is still found in recipes, however, cow milk is more to the liking of foreigners. Don’t be discouraged if you are a fan of healthy eating or a vegetarian. In this case, use almond, coconut, or soy milk. The taste of the drink will change significantly, however, it will not get worse.

There are those who do not like milk at all or this ingredient causes allergies, how then to cook masala? Yes, just on the water!

Fans of experimenting even use condensed milk. This method eliminates the need to sweeten the tea. Another unusual, even exotic cooking option … on ice cream! It sounds strange since tea is supposed to warm, but this recipe is used in many African coffee shops.

Spices

Indian use a variety of spices. The choice depends not only on the mood but it is also influenced by weather conditions and geographical location. The classic recipe involves adding:

• Green cardamom pods
• Black pepper
• Star anise
• Cinnamon sticks
• Ground cloves

Integral components are called cardamom and ginger. For a change, nutmeg, turmeric, licorice root, bay leaf, fennel seeds, etc. are also used. Among the most exotic ingredients are saffron, chili, and rose petals. Walnuts and pine nuts are also not uncommon. Before adding, it is better to push them through until valuable oils appear.

Every Indian family uses their “secret” spices to make masala chai, thanks to these little tricks, the drink turns out to be unique everywhere.

Sweetener

Sweeteners are used in the traditional masala chai recipe. It can be like cane sugar (the locals use it, calling it jaggery), or palm, coconut or even honey.

Some people add regular refined sugar, but before doing so, think about it. The spices for tea are first carefully grown, then painstakingly ground, so as not to spoil the drink with ordinary sugar.

Strict rules, as you already understood, do not exist. If you like to consume unsweetened drinks, drink without added sugar. The main thing is that you taste delicious, and tea evokes pleasant emotions!

Water

Everything is pretty simple here! Choose purified distilled water. Dairy drinkers may not use any other liquid at all. Then the masala with milk will be very nutritious, with a characteristic-rich taste.

Masala Chai Benefits And Side Effects

The question of how to brew masala chai is not difficult. But do not forget that the drink is not only beneficial, in some cases, but it can also be harmful. Let’s talk about this in more detail.

The secret of the benefits of a unique drink lies in the use of various spices to spices. Many of them have healing, anti-inflammatory, strengthening, and immunostimulating properties. Therefore, the regular use of masala with the addition of milk and a bouquet of spices leads to the following results:

• Improvement of the digestive tract
• Cleansing the body of toxins and toxins
• Acceleration of metabolism (therefore, tea is suitable for those who want to lose weight)
• Improvement of the emotional background
• Normalization of blood pressure
• Facilitating the course of inflammatory processes
• Strengthening immunity
• Reduction in the formation of cholesterol accumulations
• Saturation of the brain with oxygen
• Elimination of symptoms of colds and flu
• Skin improvement, etc.

It is worth noting that the mixture invigorates, improves memory, and attention, and drives away drowsiness. It is a mistake to believe that masala chai has no contraindications. Its individual components can cause an allergic reaction, and lead to poor health, so it should be taken with caution:

• Pregnant and lactating women
• Children under 10 years old (as spices are hot in nature)
• People suffering from diseases such as diabetes, asthma, stomach and mouth ulcers, and problems of the gastrointestinal tract.

Before use, it is desirable to understand the properties of each component, so then no difficulties will arise.

Masala Chai Recipe

There are many ways to prepare masala chai. But today we will talk about the most common of them. When preparing, remember that the color of the drink should resemble coffee with milk. If the tea turned out to be too light or, on the contrary, dark, then you did not keep the proportions correctly.

Top 5 Masala Chai Recipe

Recipe #1

What you need:

• Stone or wooden mortar for grinding spices
• Enamel bowl.

Spices:

• one cinnamon stick
• one small bay leaf
• 5 pieces. green cardamom
• 3 pcs. cloves
• 7 black peppercorns

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp black tea (it is desirable to choose Assam)
• A small piece of ginger (approximately 3-5 cm);
• Half a liter of water;
• About 1 liter of milk.

How to cook:

Using a mortar, grind the spices to a powder. The smaller they are, the brighter and richer the aroma of the drink;
crush ginger in a mortar, and put the ingredient in an enameled container.

Add a couple of teaspoons of black tea and one teaspoon of the spice mixture; fill all the components with water and put on a strong fire; bring to a boil, and reduce the flame.

Let the liquid simmer for a few more minutes; then slowly introduce milk, wait again until the drink boils; then remove from heat, strain the liquid through a sieve, pour into a cup, and enjoy Indian-style tea.

Recipe #2

Spices:

• 3 pcs. cardamom
• A couple of peas of black pepper
• A pinch of dry rose petals
• A little (at the tip of a knife) grated nutmeg
• Half a teaspoon of fennel seeds
• Two cloves
• Star anise stars in the amount of 1-2 pieces
• One teaspoon of grated ginger
• Half a stick of cloves

Ingredients:

• 3-4 tablespoons of black tea
• A glass of milk (more is possible to make the drink thicker and more saturated)
• About 500 ml of water
• Sugar to taste.

How to cook:

Grind all spices thoroughly and mix; combine tea, milk, and water in a container; bring the mixture to a boil; remove from heat, add spices; leave for about a quarter of an hour, after which you can enjoy the delicious taste of the drink.

Recipe #3

Spices:

• Half a teaspoon of green cardamom
• A quarter teaspoon of ground cloves
• Half a teaspoon of ground ginger
• One teaspoon of anise seeds
• 8-10 black peppercorns

Ingredients:

• 250 ml of water
• Half a glass of milk
• 2-3 teaspoons of black tea
• Half a teaspoon of spices

How to cook:

Combine tea, water, and milk in an enameled container; add the spice mixture to the liquid; bring to a boil; leave the drink to simmer for another couple of minutes; strain the mixture. The drink is ready to drink!

Recipe #4

Spices:

• 7 black peppercorns
• A pinch of nutmeg
• Cardamom
• 5-7 dry carnation flowers
• 2 pcs. star anise
• Cinnamon stick
• Vanilla
• Grated ginger root

Ingredients:

• Four cups of water
• Milk and sugar to taste
• Black loose-leaf tea

How to cook:

Pour black tea leaves with water, add spices; put on a strong fire; bring to a boil; lower the flame to the minimum mark, cover the liquid with a lid, and leave it to languish for a while (about a quarter of an hour); strain the tea and add the milk product just before serving.

Recipe number #5

Spices:

• 3-5 grams of fresh ginger
• 5 grams of cloves
• A couple of pieces of star anise
• 2-3 pcs. cardamom
• 5-6 black peppercorns
• 5 grams of nutmeg

Ingredients:

• 500 ml of water
• 250 ml of milk
• 15-20 grams of black tea
• 10 grams of honey

How to cook:

Put the enamel saucepan on the fire; add all spices except nutmeg; after the container is heated, pour water, and milk into it; remove from heat, and add honey, tea, and nutmeg.

Mix everything thoroughly; put on fire again, bring to a boil, reduce the flame, and stir for 1-2 minutes; then set the pan aside, cover it with a lid, and infuse the drink for about five minutes. Then you can enjoy a hot, fragrant, invigorating drink!

Lastly

Make your life easier and use ready-made masala Chai! Good spices are not easy to find, however, the assortment of Indian goods is found in online stores. Where you will find spices for tea for every taste!