Anjali Pathak's Chai

Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Makes: Enough to serve 4

Chai is world renowned for being sweet and spicy. The masala is usually kept secret and is passed down from mother to daughter. Here is one of my favourite recipes for creating your very own homemade chai. Shhh! Don’t tell my mum I shared it with you.

Ingredients

8 cloves
8 green cardamom pods
1 cinnamon stick
½ teaspoon whole black peppercorns
½ teaspoon fennel seeds
500 ml water
3-4 tea bags or 3 teaspoons of loose-leaf tea (I prefer Darjeeling)
2 teaspoons sugar, to taste
1cm root ginger, grated or 1 teaspoon ground ginger
500 ml whole milk or semi skimmed if you prefer

How to Prepare 

1. Roughly crush the spices with a pestle and mortar before adding them to a pan with the water, tea bags (or tea leaves) and sugar.
2. Grate in the ginger and bring to a boil.
3. Add the milk, stir well and allow to boil.
4. Taste and add more sugar before serving.

Anjali’s Tip

If you prefer your tea less milky then add more water instead of milk.