A perfect mug of chai masala can fix literally anything! There is a comfort that it brings, that reminds you of home. Chai masala is a hug in a mug. Chai masala is fun times with family. Chai Masala is joy in your heart and cozy night in. It is comfort and laughter with your mother. It is magical! In my hearts of hearts, I am a strungi (black tea) girl. However once in a while, I do love me some milk tea and when I do brew a mug, it often is chai masala.
Chai is the Kiswahili word for tea. Chai masala hence means spiced tea. There are a billion variations out there but this particular once I am writing about today is one I have tried, tested and perfected. You will love it just as much!
I made a dope vid to accompany the blog post. Do watch below, and subscribe!
PREP TIME: 2 min COOK TIME: 10 min SERVES: 2
Ingredients
400 ml of whole milk
½ a cup of water
1 ½ teaspoon of tea leaves
2 tablespoons of cardamom
2 tablespoons of minced ginger
1 tablespoon of black pepper corns
2 star anise
2 cinnamon sticks
Method
I always prefer to make my chai masala using whole spices. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with using supermarket-bought chai masala blend, making your own allows you to vary the ratio of the specific notes as per your liking.
First step is to roast the whole spices. The roasting of the spices also allows the flavors of the spices to blossom and intensify. That gives you a fuller, more enjoyable flavor at the end.
Begin by roasting your whole spices on an ungreased pan for 2-3 minutes, constantly stirring. Be careful not to burn them. Once they start popping and become fragrant, take them off the heat and set aside. You can choose to slightly grind them after the roast – which I do from time to time – but on this day I chose to leave them whole.
Star anise is my personal twist to the traditional chai masala recipe. It usually isn’t included, however I like some in mine because of the soft & sweet licorice flavor it adds to the tea. I purchased all my whole spices from my local CarreFour. You can get yours in any well stocked supermarket around you as well.
For the tea, pour your milk and water onto your sufuria and add your whole spices (or the rough spice grind if you chose to grind) and then the fresh ginger. Some people like their tea having more water than milk. For me, on the days I take milk tea, I like my tea having more milk than water.
Tea brewing gives you plenty of leeway to adjust specifics according to your taste. While I have provided you with the specific ingredients I used, you are very much free to vary the quantities according to your preferences.
Allow the milk to warm up as the spices flavor seeps into the simmering milk. Do not rush it. Great tea is slowly brewed tea. Once the milk is hot and almost rising, add the black tea leaves, mix them in. We produce the best tea in Kenya and it is no wonder that we among the top exporters. When I travel, I always pack Kenyan tea because the tea from other nations just doesn’t provide the same kick!
You can vary the amount of tea leaves too, depending on how dark you love your tea to be.
Turn the heat to low and let this steep (still on low) for a about 3-5 minutes stirring and mixing from time to time as the video demonstrates.
Once done, sieve and serve.
Perfect warming drink be it for breakfast, for chai ya saa kumi or even for nighttime before bed. You can taste each spice note and smell it too. The warmth of the ginger, the sting of the pepper, the fullness of the cardamom, the sweetness of the star anise and the softness of the cinnamon came together in such perfect harmony! This is an aromatic drink that fills the home and a delicious one that makes your soul happy.
You can enjoy this on it’s own. But I recommend that you enjoy it with some brownies or some banana bread or even some mahamri. I hope you loved the read and I invite you to watch the complimentary video as well!
Happy Wednesday!
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Hey there! My name is Kaluhi and I love food! Through my blog, I am happy to share with you my self-taught recipes, steeped in nostalgia and the happiest of memories. I hope each recipe you try out is as addictive as the previous one and is shared on a table full of love and hearty laughs!
Perfect for this gloomy weather we’re having today in Toronto. Thank you for this recipe
Most Welcome!
This Chai Masala has such delicious flavors! You can really taste all of the spices. Not too sweet but a perfect treat to get me going in the morning!
The balance really is phenomenal! Happy you loved it!
I love Masala Chai! I like the idea of using whole ingredients instead of grounded. I’m excited to try this for breakfast.
The whole spices really do make a huge difference!! You will love it as well!
After one of his trips to the Middle East, my husband came back having halved his coffee intake for Chai. I absolutely loved that he found it and now we share it all the time.
This makes me so happy to know! chai masala makes for a great swap for coffee while stil giving the same kick we love!
I’m a “chai girl” and I made tea your way, not going back!
Very riveting
I am also a chai die hard and I am so happy my recipe made you love this even more!
Toasting the spices gave this Chai such a wonderful flavor. I never knew it was so easy to make at home and now I’m making this all the time. Thanks for the recipe!
I LOVE Chai Masala. I drink it almost every night so I just had to make my own. I swapped out the whole milk for cashew milk and it was so good. Will definitely be making my own more often now.
Yum!! I will try it with cashew milk soon too!
I have never tried chia masala before but it looks so tasty! I am really looking forward to trying this because it includes toasted spices which are always delicious and warming.
Very warming indeed!
What I would like to say about your post is that you only need to have a look, at first glance, you understand how hard people have worked to write your post, you have not put any useless content at all. . Wrote my post in beautiful words.
xx
Chai is my hot beverage of choice so I was interested in trying this recipe. The star anise gave it a wonderful, subtle licorice flavor.
This drink is definitely a hug in mug. Ever since I found this recipe I’ve added it to my daily night time routine. Winding down with a cup of this delicious drink has been great.
Love how you described it “hug in a mug” because that is exactly what it is!
This was so cozy! I’m making it every week going forward.
Lovely tradition!
This was so amazing! The spices are so perfect and roasting them really brought out the flavor!
It really really did!
What a beautiful and creative recipe. This now replaces my morning coffee.
Perfect!
I made this every morning with my breakfast this week! It’s soo good and so easy to make!
Easy and delish for sure!!
Thanks for the Chai Masala recipe.
You are most welcome!
Where do you find good quality of the lack tea leaf? I’m in the Mid-west and I’m not sure where to get them. Maybe online? Chai is may favorite, love the spices.
Unfortunately I cannot advise on where to get then in the US as I am not an American citizen neither have I ever visited. My country is a tea grower so I wrote from my perspective as a Kenyan
Thank you for your recipe. I love this kind of beverage!
So bomb!
Woiy Kaluhi…..thank you for this! Now I’m gonna show off my prowess!
FLEXXXXXX!
A different way to enjoy your tea and an amaizing one at that.
For sure!
tea is really amazing for every occassion. for girls its great to spend time with dearones.
For sure!!!
Tea is really amazing for every occasion. for girls its great to spend time with dearness.
Nice blog. Great information. It’s really helpful. Valuable content and presentation.
Thank you!
Nice blog. Great information. It’s really helpful. Valuable content and presentation.
So thrilled you love it!