My friend Carla is a patent lawyer, an avid baseball fan, a connoisseur of Bollywood movies, and an all around interesting and sincere person and she makes the most delicious chai. It’s so spicy. I made a batch last night and was reminded how wonderful it is. Here is her recipe:
Carla’s Chai
8 whole cloves
4-6 cardamom pods
1 cinnamon stick, broken into pieces
3 cups water
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 c milk (I use whole milk because I have a toddler and always have whole milk around)
1 tsp Tbl. granulated sugar (whoops!)
4 teabags black tea
In a mortar, crush the cloves, cardamom pods and cinnamon. Transfer the crushed spices to a small saucepan, add the water, ginger and pepper and bring to a boil. Remove pan from heat, cover and let steep for 5 minutes.
Add the milk and sugar to the pan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add the tea. Cover and let steep to desired strength, then strain into a warmed teapot or directly into teacups.
rebecca says
thanks for posting this recipe! i love chai but have never made my own.
Marie says
Mmmm, I think I’ll make some up over the weekend. I love chai tea. 🙂
herhimnbryn says
Spooky! I posted a blog on Chai not so long ago! It is my favourite tea at the moment. It’s so aromatic isn’t it?
herhimnbryn says
Thursday 4th Feb, to be precise! It’s 6.15am here in Australia, think I shall go an make some Chai!
I like your Blog and have now bookmarked you.
carla says
Thanks for saying such nice things about me! In the chai I actually use more like a tablespoon of sugar – but even then it’s a whole lot less sweet than what Starbucks or the like calls “chai.”
Aurora says
Hi! I love chai and can’t wait to try this recipe.
I like your blog too! Great job. You might like to visit mine sometime…we like the same things.
Smiles, Aurora
abbyjane says
Thanks, Carla! The recipe has been corrected now.
Creative Kismet says
Thanks for sharing this recipe. It looks delicious and full of spice. Exactly how I like my chai tea!
Kristen says
i really love chai and have experimented with various recipes. try a very small amount of baking soda in it sometime. it sounds strange but adds and interesting flavor. a chai house in Seattle does this and it’s actually really good. i love chai