Chai Pilgrimage

We love baking our own chai dipping biscuits. We call these Yogi Chai Biscuits because they are eggless, naturally sweetened, full of sacred cow ghee and pure enough to suit a sattvic diet. But be careful! These biscuits are so yummy, they require the cultivated restraint of a disciplined yogi. Click recipe card to view larger.

yogi chai biscuits

Ingredients

1 cup Organic Whole Spelt flour (can substitute with wheat)
1 cup Organic White Spelt flour (can substitute with wheat)
2 Tbs. Arrowroot powder
1/2 cup Maple syrup
1/2 cup Ghee/clarified butter (can substitute with butter)
1/2 tsp. Vanilla extract
1 tsp. Cardamom, freshly ground, course
1/2 tsp. Ginger powder
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon powder
1/4 tsp. Nutmeg, freshly ground
& small pinch of salt

Recipe

Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Combine ghee, maple syrup and vanilla extract in larger bowl and mix
Combine flour, arrowroot powder and spices in smaller bowl and mix
Add dry ingredients to wet and mix by hand until firm and well blended
Roll into small (3/4 inch) balls and press into cookie sheet
Bake for about 14 minutes at 375 degrees or until bottom is golden brown
Offer up to the Divine. Eat a few warm. Let the rest cool thoroughly for best dipping.

Download printable pdf of our recipe card here!

Here’s a quick, simple, light, spicy, yummy chai recipe for your sipping pleasure…Click on recipe card above to view larger or click here to download a printable version.

Ingredients

4 cups Water
1/4 cup grated, fresh Ginger (loosely packed)
1 cup Milk
3 Tbl. Sugar (we like to use Sucanat, an evaporated cane juice)
5 tsp. Darjeeling Black Tea (Sikkim’s Temi estate tea harmonizes well with the flavor of ginger)

Recipe

Simmer ginger in water for 5 to 10 minutes.
Add milk and sugar and bring back to simmer.
Turn off heat, add tea, cover and steep for 3-4 minutes.
Strain and serve.
Makes about 4  cups

There are some chai lovers out there who have never made their own masala chai from scratch. They may think it is too complicated, they don’t have enough time or there is some secret to making good chai.  I can assure you, making masala chai is simple, and the only secret is that fresh, homemade chai is superior to anything you can get out of a box.  Like anything else we have never done before, once it is demystified, it becomes easy.

Some Indian readers may not know, that in North America, you can purchase ready-made masala chai in a box.  In fact, there are now a multitude of instant chai mixes and masala tea bags available.  The Hindi word chai has come to mean masala chai, and many Americans redundantly say chai tea, not knowing that chai means tea.  To our benefit, however, the recent popularity and availability of masala chai has turned on the masses to the simple pleasure of drinking spiced milk tea.  Unfortunately, in our culture of consumer convenience, many think chai is something that only comes out of a box or from Starbucks, and have been disempowered from making their own, before ever even trying.

If you choose to Be Here Now and continue reading, you will receive the transcendental masala chai making empowerment.  It is like a shaktipat, except you can do it to yourself.  Here it goes…Say out loud “I can make masala chai!  I can make masala chai!!  I can make masala chai!!!”, then clap your hands together like a lightning strike and tap the middle of your forehead with the ring finger of your right hand. Svaha!

You have been self-initiated.  Now you possess within you everything you need.  With some milk, tea, sugar, spices and a little practical guidance, you’ll be ready to go.

One thing you should know: there is a great deal of diversity when it comes to making masala chai.  For example, in the West, we tend to use an assortment of spices in excessive proportions, instead of just one or two for a hint for flavor.  In India they usually boil the tea rather than just steeping it.  We’ll discuss some of the various preparation techniques and nuances in later posts.

Here is a method (not the method) of masala chai preparation to get you started.  Create a masala, or spice combination, by adding spices into a pot of water.  Simmer for 5 or 10 minutes (some like to brew it much longer).  Then add milk, anywhere from a 1:1 to 1:5 ratio to water, and sugar or other sweetener, and bring to a simmer again.  Turn off the heat, add loose black tea, generally about 1 teaspoon per cup, cover, and let it steep 3-5 minutes.  Strain and serve.

Remember, start simple at first. To begin with, use only ginger; next time, add some cardamom; later try some cinnamon or fennel, and so on. This way you can get to know the spice flavors before you get too complex. OK, so you went crazy with the black pepper and made it so spicy that you can’t even drink it.  Don’t give up.  Just learn from your mistakes.  Find the spices that suite your palate to create your own spice palette. Play with different recipes and have fun. With some practice, you can develop a creative chai making mastery and turn the simple act of preparing chai into an art.

Jenny and I will offer recipes now and again, some information about spices, tea varieties, seasonal chais and ingredient alternatives for those who cannot take caffeine, milk or sugar.  Although we usually just eyeball the proportions and make it a little different each time, instead of using a recipe, measuring out ingredients can be a helpful starting point until you trust you abilities enough to experiment.  If you have some chai-making tips or a recipe to share, please leave a comment.
Making, drinking and serving masala chai to our friends is one of our greatest joys.  Thanks for coming to our site.  May you always feel empowered!

Over the years, I have to tried to emulate my Chai Guru’s chai, but could never match it.  This recipe is my own humble rendition of my very first cup of chai.  (Click on Jenny’s recipe card above to see larger or click here to download and print.) Enjoy.

spicy goat milk masala chai

–Makes ~6 10oz. cups–

Ingredients

6 cups water
3 cups goat milk
1/3 cup maple syrup (-or- 1/2 cup if you like it sweet -or- to taste; can substitute other sweetener)
3 black tea bags -OR- 3 tsp. CTC tea -OR- 6 tsp. Assam whole leaf grade tea
1/3 cup (grated) fresh ginger
1″ cinnamon stick
7 each black, white and red whole peppercorns
7 cloves
7 allspice (pimento) berries
15 green cardamom pods -OR- 1 tsp. decorticated (shell removed) cardamom
Small pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
Saffron for garnish

Recipe
1. Stop.  Breathe.  Smile.
2. Fill pot with water and put over high heat.
3. Grate ginger and add to pot.  (You can also slice thinly or smash in a mortar and pestle)
4. Grind cinnamon, peppercorns, cloves, allspice and cardamom in a mortar and pestle or spice/coffee grinder and add to pot
5.Grate nutmeg into pot
6.Bring to boil, then reduce flame and simmer for around 15 minutes
7.Add goat milk, tea and maple syrup.
8.Turn to high heat until it comes to a rapid boil then remove from heat.
9.Strain into second pot, pour into serving cups, garnish with a few strands of saffron and offer to your Beloved Friend.

We never came across any goat milk chai in India, but here’s a goat we encountered in Benares, the morning after Shivaratri, enjoying offerings made to the Shiva Lingum.

Amidst the traffic of rickshaws, motor scooters, market goers and a small herd of water buffalo being led down the road, we discover the popular Pappu Chai Shop. Early in the day, it is a gathering place for elder intellectual types who read the newspaper, debate political issues and get their morning dose. After hours, it becomes a hang out for bhang (edible marijuana) users. We were told this chai stand has been here for 80 or 100 years.

We sit down outside on a low concrete wall next to Ashu, a regular customer and owner of Shiva Rooftop Restaurant down the street. Over the noise of honking cars and bicycle bells, we ask him what makes Pappu chai so special. “Because it is hygienic,” he tells us. “They clean the gilaas [hindi for glass] every time by the hot water. It is unique way. You will never see like this one.” It is true. In all our time in India we have never witnessed soap or hot water being used to clean glasses or any chai-making implement. We observe as a young boy first rinses the glasses in cold water like other chai stalls, then gives them a thorough cleansing with hot water that has been boiled on an open fire. The health of chai drinkers across India would surely benefit from this trademark disinfecting method.

Manoj operates his chai stall with precision, speed and dexterity. A third generation chai wallah, he employs an unconventional chai making technique handed down from his grandfather. Instead of making a pot of chai, each glass is prepared individually in an assembly line fashion. First, he carefully calculates the number of glasses by a count of seated customers, expected regulars and estimated drop-ins. The glasses are then grouped together into three parallel rows and a spoonful of sugar is put in the bottom of each glass. Hot milk is then ladled on top of the sugar. Manoj measures the tea by hand into a tea “sock,” with tea carefully being added or taken out to suit the amount of glasses being made. Boiling water is then slowly poured over the tea until it is fully saturated and the tea water starts to come through. When the flowing tea has a dark, rich color, it is quickly passed over the glasses with one hand while hot water is poured from a kettle in the other hand. He first moves the filtered tea long-ways over the line of glasses, then back and forth. A little more tea is added, then again across the glasses. The chai is made from “new tea every time — not boiling again and again.”

We learn that Manoj makes around 700-800 glasses of chai per day from 5am until 10pm. We ask Ashu, “how much per glass?” He answers, “2 rupees,” and before I could do the dollar conversion of take off the zero and divide by 4, the chai wallah starts laughing and talking to us. Ashu translates, “There are many customers that come every day and they are friends and take chai free. Many one is coming here and many crowd and he’ll give you chai and [snaps fingers] “challo” (meaning let’s go) — not paying the money. But they’re not caring about these things because they’re very much very good fellows.”

Finally, Manoj stirs each glass vigorously, with the rhythm and calm fervor of a classical Indian drummer. The ‘clink-clanking’ of the metal spoon against glass is like a dinner bell to the customers. In the madness of anxious hands grabbing for their glasses, Manoj hands us our chai. It is dark, bold and on the edge of being too bitter. I like it. Even though the tea is not boiled like most, it bears a distinctive strong tea flavor that provides quite a wake up call. We attempt to give Manoj 4 rupees for our chais but he just shakes his head and smiles.

There’s a gazillion ways to make masala chai. Once you get the hang of it, you can create customized blends depending on your personal taste, the time of day, or the occasion. We like a thick, milky chai for breakfast. For kids, a “chai-less masala chai,” that is, everything but the black tea, can be a healthy treat. For your lover, sweeten it with maple syrup, spice it up with cinnamon and adorn with saffron – mmmmm.

Chai formulas can change with the seasons, too. On a hot summer day, throw in some cooling coriander seeds or even fresh mint – but forget about the cloves and black pepper. In the winter, if you are sick with a cold, flu or congestion, make a warming, gingery batch. The masala chai tradition began this way centuries ago with grandmothers using spice decoctions as home remedies – later tea was added.

Everyone can enjoy chai. Even if you don’t drink black tea or milk or use sugar, you can substitute herbal teas like rooibos, milk alternatives like soy or rice milk and natural sweeteners such as maple syrup, sucanat or licorice root. There are endless combinations and nuances. In upcoming posts, we will offer insight into traditional and non-traditional ingredients, various preparation techniques, health value of the spices and tips we picked up in our travels. We hope this will enhance your appreciation for chai as you experiment and evolve with your own creative chai-making. Here is a simple recipe to get you started, in case you’ve never prepared your own masala chai.

5 cups water
1/4 cup loosely packed, grated fresh ginger
1” cinnamon stick
1 cup organic whole milk
1/4 cup raw sugar (like Sucanat)
10 green cardamom pods
4 tsp. loose Assam tea (or 4 tea bags)

makes 5 8-ounce cups

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Pour water into pot and put over high heat.
Grate fresh ginger with a cheese grater and add to pot.
Break cinnamon stick, add to pot and stir.
Reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Thoroughly grind cardamom pods in a mortar and pestle or spice/coffee grinder.
Add milk, sugar and cardamom to the masala and stir.
Increase heat and bring to a boil, then remove from heat.
Add tea, stir and cover.
Steep tea for 3-5 minutes depending on desired potency, then immediately strain into separate pot to avoid over-steeping.