How to Make Masala Chai
For 2 cups, simmer 250ml of water with 3 crushed green cardamom pods, 2 cloves, a 2cm piece of cinnamon and 10g of grated fresh ginger for 3 minutes. Add 6-8g of Assam CTC tea and boil for 2 minutes, then add 250ml of whole milk and 2-3 teaspoons of sugar, bring it back to a rolling boil and simmer 2-3 minutes before straining.
Masala chai is black tea boiled with milk, sugar and spices. In India the word chai simply means tea, and most of the country drinks it this way: made fresh in a saucepan at home or by street vendors, called chaiwalas, who boil it in large pots and pour it into small glasses or clay cups. Masala means spice mix, and every household has its own version. Unlike Western brewing, chai is boiled rather than steeped. Boiling the leaf in water first extracts a very strong, tannic base, and boiling again after the milk goes in thickens the drink and lets the milk proteins bind the tannins, so the finished cup is rich and smooth rather than harsh. Fresh ginger brings heat, green cardamom brings a sweet floral note, and cloves, cinnamon and black pepper add depth. Sugar is part of the recipe, not an optional extra; it rounds out the spice and tannin. The tea itself must be strong enough to survive equal parts milk. Assam CTC (crush, tear, curl) granules are the standard choice because they release color and body within 2 minutes of boiling. Broken-leaf Assam and Kenyan black tea also work. Delicate whole-leaf teas such as Darjeeling first flush disappear under the milk and spice.
Recipe
Teaware
- Small saucepan (1 liter)
- Mortar and pestle or rolling pin for crushing spices
- Fine grater for ginger
- Fine-mesh tea strainer
- Kitchen scale or measuring spoons
- Ladle or small jug for pouring
- 2 heatproof cups or glasses
Steps
- 1
Crush the spices
Lightly crush 3 green cardamom pods, 2 cloves and a 2cm piece of cinnamon. Grate 10g of fresh ginger, about a 2cm piece.
Crack the cardamom pods open but keep the seeds inside; finely ground spice makes the chai gritty.
- 2
Simmer the spices in water
Put 250ml of water and the spices in the saucepan, bring to a boil and simmer for 3 minutes.
Spices extract better in water than in milk, so give them this head start before the tea goes in.
- 3
Boil the tea
Add 6-8g of Assam CTC and boil for 2 minutes until the liquid is a deep red-brown.
The water should look almost black-red before the milk goes in; if it is pale, the finished chai will taste weak.
- 4
Add milk and sugar
Pour in 250ml of whole milk and 2-3 teaspoons (8-12g) of sugar and stir.
Whole milk gives the classic body; skimmed milk makes a thin chai that tastes more of tannin.
- 5
Bring to a rolling boil
Raise the heat until the chai foams up the sides of the pan, then lower the heat just before it boils over. Repeat the rise 2-3 times over 2-3 minutes.
Stay at the stove. Milk boils over in seconds once it starts to rise.
- 6
Aerate with a ladle
Scoop up a ladleful and pour it back into the pan from about 20cm, 4-5 times.
This is the home version of the chaiwala's long pour; it mixes the cream back in and softens the texture.
- 7
Strain and serve
Pour through a fine-mesh strainer into 2 cups and serve hot.
Press the leaves and spices in the strainer with a spoon to get the last of the concentrated tea out.
Tips
- For a stronger cup, change the ratio to 1 part water to 2 parts milk and boil the tea for 3 minutes.
- Add 2-3 crushed black peppercorns in winter for extra heat.
- Grate ginger directly into the pan just before simmering; pre-grated ginger loses its bite within an hour.
- Jaggery can replace white sugar, but add it off the heat at the end, because it can curdle milk while it boils.
- Make a dry masala mix ahead: 4 parts ground ginger, 2 parts cardamom, 1 part cinnamon, 1 part clove; use about 1/2 teaspoon per 2 cups.
Common Mistakes
- Steeping a tea bag in hot milk — the tea never fully extracts and the cup tastes milky and thin; boil the leaf in water first.
- Using delicate whole-leaf tea — the flavor disappears under milk and spice; use Assam CTC.
- Adding ground spices by the spoonful — the chai turns gritty and muddy; use whole crushed spices.
- Boiling the tea for 10 minutes or more — it turns bitter and astringent; 2 minutes in water plus 2-3 minutes with milk is enough.
- Leaving the pan unattended after the milk goes in — it boils over and scorches; watch it and lower the heat as it rises.