Enjoyed by millions in India, masala chai, a spiced,
sweetened black tea mixed with milk, is now popular around the world.
It is sold all over India by chai wallahs, or tea vendors,
who pour the tea from big kettles into small cups. Americans have
incorrectly shortened the name to chai (which means simply
"milk tea"); masala refers to the combination of spices,
which often includes cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, pepper,
fennel, and star anise.
History
Tea plants have grown wild in the Assam region since antiquity, but
historically, Indians viewed tea as an herbal medicine rather than
as a recreational beverage. Some of the chai masala spice mixtures,
or
karha and Kashayam (Kha-shā-yam) that are still in
current use, are derived from ancient Ayurvedic texts.
In the 1830s, the British East India Company became concerned about
the Chinese monopoly on tea, which constituted most of its trade and
supported the enormous consumption of tea in Great Britain around
one pound (by weight) per person per year. British colonists had
recently noticed the existence of the Assamese tea plants, and began
to cultivate tea plantations locally. In 1870, over 90% of the tea
consumed in Great Britain was still of Chinese origin, but by 1900,
this had dropped to 10%, largely replaced by tea grown in India
(50%) and Ceylon (33%), present-day Sri Lanka.
However, consumption of black tea within India remained low until
the promotional campaign by the Indian Tea Association in the early
20th century, which encouraged factories, mines, and textile mills
to provide tea breaks for their workers. It also supported many
independent
chai wallas throughout the growing railway system.
The official promotion of tea was as served in the Indian mode, with
small added amounts of milk and sugar. The Indian Tea Association
initially disapproved of independent vendors' tendency to add spices
and greatly increase the proportions of milk and sugar, thus
reducing their usage (and thus purchase) of tea leaves per liquid
volume. However, masala chai in its present form has now firmly
established itself as a popular beverage.
Learn more on Wikipedia
Recipe
Ingredients
-
10 green cardamom pods, cracked, seeds removed, and pods discarded
(or 1/2 teaspoon cardamom seeds or ground cardamom)
- 1 1/2-inch) piece cinnamon stick
- 4 peppercorns (preferably white)
- 1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 2 cups whole milk
- 3 1/2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar, or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 cups water
- 5 teaspooons loose assam tea
-
Equipment: a mortar and pestle or an electric coffee/spice grinder
Preparation
-
Grind together cardamom, cinnamon stick, peppercorns, and fennel
seeds with mortar and pestle or coffee/spice grinder.
-
Bring milk just to a simmer in a 2-quart heavy saucepan. Stir or
whisk in brown sugar, ground spice mixture, ginger, and 1/8 teaspoon
salt, or to taste. Reduce heat to low and simmer gently, stirring
occasionally, 3 minutes to infuse flavors.
-
Meanwhile, bring water to a boil in a 1-quart saucepan, add tea, and
boil 1 minute.
-
Pour tea through a fine-mesh sieve into hot milk mixture (discard
tea leaves) and cook over low heat 1 minute. Stir before serving.
