Chai... when chai lovers hear this word, all of us cannot resist it anytime or anywhere. I am one of those people. I can drink Chai in the morning, afternoon, evening, night, and midnight. Anytime can be chai time for me and for people who love Chai. 
Worldwide people know chai and/or chai latte; chai has different varieties or variations all over world. Usually, people like to drink chai in the morning with some breakfast. In England they call it Breakfast Tea. But you might have heard of Chai time...or Tea time break...which is a break during your work time ln Mumbai Maharashtra, India where I am from. Laborer's call it 'eak cutting', which means a half cup of chai.
Have you ever wondered where chai or tea originated? So far, I have heard people in my family say Chai (Tea) isn't our drink- it came with East India Company (in short with the British). In India, people used to drink something similar as a herbal drink, Chai was never a part of our ealier culture. But once it came to India, it never left. Now when you hear about it, Chai is very much an Indian drink. You will find lots of big TEA Plantations in the Northern part of India; in a state called Aasam, where they started growing TEA. There are also some plantations in the South of India too.
India has given a very new look and taste to the tea and it became Chai. There are various versions of chai, such as Masala Chai, Adark Wali Chai (Ginger Tea), Tulsi Chai (Indian Basil).
Here is my recipe for chai, which you can make strong or light- but I like it perfectly in the medium-strong.
To make Masala chai, you'll need some spices; you can make it in advance or grind it as little needed.
Here are the Ingridients you'll need for Masala chai (SPICES)
- Cardamom: 25 grm
- Black pepper: 20 gma
- Clove: 4 pieces
- Cinnamon: 1 small piece
- Ginger powder: 1 TBS
*Grind all the ingredients in a marble grinder and mix all together (you can store it in a container for 1 week or so) *
Total Time: 15-18 min
Prepration: 5 min
Cooking: 12-13 min
Ingredients:
- Water: 1cup
- Tea Leaves: 1tsp
- Sugar: 1 1/2 -2 tsp
- Milk: 1/2 cup
- Tea Masala: 1/4 tsp
- First of all in a small pan, add water and let it simmer for a minute.
- Then add tea, sugar, and tea masala.
- Boil it until you see it starting to bubble- let it boil for 5 min.
- Then add milk and turn stove to medium flame and let it boil.
- Stay close and watch over or the chai will overflow.
- Once it over boils a little (not to the point it falls out, but so it rises a little) for two-three times turn off gas.
- strain with Tea strainer.
- Serve hot with your favorite snack, like biscuits.
Tips:
- If you dont have tea leaves, you can use a tea bag (1 tea bag per cup of tea)
- You can also add small pices of fresh Ginger and some Sweet Basil (this is my favorite kind of tea)
- Add tumiric powder and honey instead of milk and it will help with a cold and/or cough
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