Spiced Milk Tea (Masala Chai)
A warming and aromatic Indian spiced tea featuring cardamom, cinnamon, peppercorns, and fennel seeds simmered with milk and black tea. This traditional masala chai combines rich whole milk with fragrant spices and strong black tea for a comforting beverage.
Ingredients
- •10 pods green cardamom pods
- •1 piece cinnamon stick
- •4 whole peppercorns
- •¼ teaspoon fennel seeds
- •2 cups whole milk
- •3½ tablespoons light brown sugar
- •½ teaspoon ground ginger
- •2 cups water
- •5 teaspoons loose orange pekoe tea
- •Equipment
Cooking Instructions
- 1.
Grind together cardamom, cinnamon stick, peppercorns, and fennel seeds with mortar and pestle or coffee/spice grinder.
3 min
- 2.
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.
5 min
- 3.
Meanwhile, bring water to a boil in a 1-quart saucepan, add tea, and boil 1 minute.
5 min
- 4.
Pour tea through a fine-mesh sieve into hot milk mixture (discard tea leaves) and cook over low heat 1 minute. Stir before serving.
2 min
