Spicy, aromatic, sweet Indian masala tea brewed with milk is popular all over the world. There are special mixtures for such tea, sometimes even packaged in sachets, but the most delicious drink is obtained, the mixture of spices for which you have prepared to your liking.
The classic masala tea recipe
There is no strict recipe for masala tea; many Indian families have their own way of brewing the famous drink, passed down from generation to generation. However, there are some ingredients without which it is impossible to make masala tea. First of all, this is the tea itself. As a rule, they take strong, inexpensive black tea, such as Assam, but in the province of Kashmir there is a regional recipe where the drink is based on green tea.
A sweetener is always added to masala tea, but it can be different. Plain white sugar, cane sugar, palm or coconut sugar, syrup or honey. The classic recipe uses cheap jaggery, popular in rural India.
Those who drink unsweetened tea and coffee drinks should avoid masala tea. Without a large dose of sugar, it will be too bitter.
Buffalo milk is poured into traditional masala tea, but whole cow, goat, and soy milk can be used. Of the spices, fresh ginger root and green cardamom pods must be added to the masala. The rest of the spices vary from region to region and from family to family. It can be cinnamon, star anise, fennel, pepper, cloves, nutmeg, anise, tamarind, bay leaf. The Kashmir version, the one that uses green tea, includes almonds and cinnamon, and occasionally saffron. From exotic additives, rose petals and licorice root, sometimes a little caraway, are put into tea.
In the West, condensed milk, ice cream, chocolate, vanilla can be added to tea, and rooibos-based masala tea can be brewed
How to make masala tea
You will need: – 2 glasses of milk of 3,5% fat content; – 2 glasses of water; – 4 buds of dried cloves; – 2 pods of green cardamom; – 2 grains of black pepper; – 1 stick of cinnamon; – 1 piece of fresh ginger root (about 2,5 centimeters); – 2 tablespoons of sugar; – 2 tablespoons of black tea leaves.
Grind the cloves, cardamom and pepper in a mortar. Grate the ginger. Mix water and milk, add chopped spices, ginger and cinnamon. Boil the tea over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add tea and sugar. Mix and simmer for about 5 minutes more. Strain and serve. This amount of ingredients is enough for 4 cups of tea.
For Kashmiri masala tea, take: – 1 teaspoon of green tea; – 4 pods of cardamom; – 1 stick of cinnamon; – 2 cups of water; – 2 cups milk of 3,5% fat; – a pinch of saffron; – 2 tablespoons of chopped almonds; – honey.
Chop the spices, mix with tea, milk and water. Bring the tea to a boil, reduce heat, and cook for 5 minutes. Place almonds in each cup and cover with hot tea, add honey.