Masala tea. Traditional recipes
I have real winter inspiration for flavored drinks. A good experience with spices for coffee inspired me to search for new taste sensations and discovered amazing Vedic masala tea. The taste of masala is difficult to describe, it needs to be cooked!
Masala is a spice mixture in Hindi. There are as many recipes for masala chai as there are families in India, but the constant ingredients remain tea, milk, spices and sweetener. If you decide to try masala tea, do not buy ready-made ground mixture in bags. Ideally, grind the spices in a mortar, or grind them in a coffee grinder.
Traditional masala spices:
- Cardamom
- Carnation
- Cinnamon
- Ginger
- Black pepper
- Nutmeg
However, the listed spices are not the limit. To taste, you can use black cumin, cumin, white and red pepper, anise, saffron, bay and vanilla - any taste and combination that seems harmonious to you.
The whole difficulty lies in the dosage of spices. For example, cloves are a very bright, pungent spice that can veil any other. Therefore, it is very easy to overdo it. This applies to laurel and nutmeg. I prefer to grind spices with a reserve of 4-5 cups, although there are admirers who add a dessert spoon of the mixture per cup - for me this is too much.
The ideal proportions of masala tea for me were: Cinnamon - half a stick or 1 tsp ground. Sometimes cinnamon gets in the way…. Cardamom - 4-5 pods (seed only, no husks) Black pepper - a few peas Cloves - 3 buds Anise (star anise) - 1-2 seeds.
Grind spices in a coffee grinder or mortar. In a saucepan, mix water and milk, in any proportion to your taste, and boil. By the way, condensed milk also gives an interesting taste, but I do not recommend replacing it with whole milk. Reduce the heat to low and add spices - you can use a teaspoon, or you can use the tip of a knife. After a minute, remove from heat and let sit for a few minutes. Add black tea, or tea with bergamot (as you usually drink) and let the mixture boil. Sugar can be added during the cooking process, but honey is better in slightly cooled masala.
Experiment with proportions and variations, add citrus zest (orange goes well with milk). I tried adding butter to masala tea during a cold - it restores my voice and invigorates me well, drink with caution before going to bed. You can strain it, but when trying it for the first time, drink it unstrained - it’s a real explosion of flavor!