Chai Pilgrimage

Here’s a lively sermon from Pastor Eddie D. Smith to sip your morning chai to.  For a more extensive explanation of Namaste, check out this earlier post.  And again, Namaste!

OH WOW, it’s amazing how time flies by when your life is suddenly filled with so much joy and beauty and laughter… Tulsi is 5 months old already and doing amazing! We are still in a constant state of awe watching her grow. She is as sweet as her name and the scent of Tulsi flowers. We celebrated Bhandara with her at the Hanuman Temple recently, and she wore her first jeweled bindi. Sigh.

So, as you may have noticed, our chai pilgrimage blog has been on hiatus during these precious first months, but soon, we will be  back blogging and finishing our book (which will have a 2010 release date instead of 2009).

Winter is the perfect time for such a project, all nestled up in our cozy mountain home sipping chai and creating all day! Patrick has already begun teaching Tulsi the art of making chai. Perhaps when she can stand on her own … and reach the counter. Also, I’m in the midst of finishing my next children’s book, Same, Same but Different, inspired by our travels in Nepal and India. It will be published by Henry Holt.

So there you have it — TWO books inspired by India’s beauty that you can look forward to! Stay tuned, and REMEMBER to sign up for our mailing list to the right so you’ll know when and where you can purchase them.

Almost seven weeks have passed since our last post, and we have a good reason! Our daughter, Tulsi Lila Grace Shaw, was born on April 9th! She chose Hanuman’s birthday on the full moon as the perfect moment to arrive. She’s awesome! And we’re doing great! (There’s more on my blog.) I’ve been drinking a lot of non-caffeinated Tulsi ginger spice chai in celebration. It’s my new favorite ‘chai’. So, in honor of our sweet Tulsi, we’ll be posting a new recipe as soon as time permits!

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For those of you who have asked about the sweet Ganesh doll, our friend found it on ebay. Search for “Ganesh plush doll” or click here.

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!

Above: Indian and Nepali biscuit wallahs & a happy biscuit dippin’ customer

The only thing better than a tasty cup of chai, is a cup of chai with some chai dipping biscuits to dip in it.  A handful of biscuits and a cup of milky masala chai can almost serve as an entire meal.  Either a good neutral-tasting biscuit, or one that harmonizes with the taste of your tea, is the preferred vehicle to absorb the chai flavor.

Fresh, ‘oven baked’ chai cookies by a biscuit wallah in Rishikesh, India

The integrity of the biscuit is also important.  You want one that can soak up a lot of chai, but that won’t fall apart and end up as dissolved confectionary sludge on the bottom of your cup.

Jenny dippin’ in Darjeeling, India

In India, Parle-G’s are the unofficial national biscuit.  They have been a sweet part of the Indian dipping ritual for over 65 years.  Even though I question the packages’ claim that they are a healthy snack, I have, on more than one occasion, sat around a chai stall and consumed an entire package with a couple cups of chai.

A Parle-G delivery truck in Benares, India

One Parle G memory we will always remember, is buying a package of Parle G’s on an Indian railway platform, only to remove the wrapper and find that somebody had sealed another package inside of a different brand with a lower rupee value.  We had to appreciate this ingenious Indian grassroots-marketing ploy.

Back home though, our diet is a bit more refined, and we shy away from white flour, refined sugar and artificial flavors.  Our personal favorite store-bought chai dipping biscuits are Heaven Scent almond windmill cookies and Mi-del ginger snaps.  The windmill cookies win out for texture, soak-ability and a size that allows multiple dips without getting your fingers wet.  They are not too sweet and have a mild flavor that complements the flavor of chai.  The ginger snaps are quite crunchy, but soften nicely after withstanding a long dip.  They bring their own sweetness and ginger flavor to the chai without introducing any conflicting taste sensations.  Both are available at most natural food stores.

If you enjoy baking, check out our Yogi Chai Biscuit post and download a colorful recipe card.

We really enjoyed reading ALL your comments and unique stories!! Thanks so much for sharing. Looks like Mata-Ji (who has been our dear and wise Chai Pilgrimage advisor) chose two winners of our raffle: Gary and Jacqueline. If you email me your mailing address at coloredsock@mac.com, we’ll send off a set of cards to you soon. We hope you enjoy them! Just a reminder, you can also order my cards here.

Thanks for playing everyone. There will be more fun raffles in the future!

To celebrate Jenny’s new Chai Pilgrimage selection on cardstore.com, we are giving away a set of 5 of our favorite cards.  To enter, just leave a comment on this post describing your favorite masala chai.  We will select the winner at random on Thursday, March 12th and announce it in a post later that day.  The lucky winner will be contacted by email for a mailing address.  Good luck and thanks for visiting our site!