Staying healthy with Chai (black tea with cardamom and ginger)

Chai – An entire country runs on it.

And when you consider that the country has over 1 billion people, chances are that Starbucks sales do not even come close to the number of cups of chai served daily in India.

Often, people have two to three cups daily. My own family starts the day with chai – and has one towards the evening.

If a social visit happens in between (someone drops in – or you drop in somewhere), add another cup of chai for each visit.  That’s just in the house – when you are not doing much.

At work, given long, crazy work hours and often challenging work, chai becomes more of an addiction – with work people ‘ordering’ chai every couple of hours (there is usually a dedicated chai guy – whose sole responsibility is to take chai orders).

So – India runs on chai. But more importantly, chai is a super food that can boost your immunity and fight a lot of minor illnesses (headaches, fevers and bad throat type of illnesses)

This post will teach you how to make chai – as well as some variations to tackle headaches, sore throats and what not (also read, boosting immunity tips).

Ingredients 

Raw Ginger (Optional), Tea Leaves, Sugar, Black Cardamom (optional), Whole Milk (preferably, though any type of milk will work)

Crush some fresh ginger and grind it (see image below). A small amount is all that is needed – maybe a couple of pinches worth. Ginger is not always part of chai, it is a matter of preference. For treating a cold or sore throat, definitely add ginger (and black cardamom).

Black Tea Leaves

Wagh Bakri tea leaves, for me, contain the right combination of flavor and strength (I like my tea to be STRONG). There are plenty of options to this one, if your taste buds don’t approve. I would recommend going to an Indian Grocery store and checking out some of the options there.

kanan devan golden leaf – kerala / kunoor black tea

Steps (for 1 cup chai)

1. Bring 1.5 cups of water to a boil.
2. Add crushed ginger and ONE heaped spoon of black tea. Add a whole black cardamom. Let it all boil for about 90 seconds. Add a spoon of sugar (I like to add it upfront so it dissolves well).
3. Add HEATED milk.  Add it little by little so that you never lose the boil in the liquid (not crucial to do it this way – you can add all the milk and let the boil return in a minute or so). How much milk you add depends on how strong you want your tea (more milk will make it slightly weaker….).
4. Once the milk plus tea mixture is boiling  – lower the flame to medium. Let the mixture continue boiling  – how long depends on the COLOR of the liquid. Dark brown is how I like it (strong). Dark Brown would take about 2-4 minutes of additional boiling time AFTER the milk has been added (on medium flame).
5. Once the desired color is attained, COVER the POT for about 2-4 minutes – do not let the steam escape.
6. Filter the chai into a mug (Add saffron to the empty mug before, if you want some ROYALTY in your tea)

The Finished Product

Once you have a darkish brown color, your chai is ready. Before pouring it out, try and cover the pot for a few minutes (4-5) for an extra seeping in of the FLAVOR.

For a Headache or low grade fever

Add cloves to the boiling tea.

For a sore throat and/or cold

Add fresh, raw ginger to the chai . Also try adding one whole black cardamom.

Before going to bed

Saffron (the king of spices) is a great flavor enhancer and also has sleep inducing qualities.