6 Unique Masala Tea Recipes
6 Unique Masala Tea Recipes
This exotic drink is not difficult to find in almost any coffee shop, despite its history of several thousand years. Masala or “spicy tea” is imbued with stories about royal families, slaves and plantations, cunning traders and herbal medicine. The inhabitants of India rightfully consider it a landmark of their own country. Now we can create it at home using the recipes presented in the article.
- What is Indian Masala Milk Tea?
- Composition of healthy masala consistency
- Benefits and harm to the body from consumption, characteristics of tea
- Masala Tea Recipes
- Traditional Masala Chai Recipe
- How to brew masala with ground spices
- How to make masala with orange
- How to brew masala from ready-made mixture
- How to make masala with honey
- Masala for weight loss
What is Indian Masala Milk Tea?
Sweet masala tea is an Indian drink made from milk tea, flavored with a bouquet of spices. At first, the sweet and spiced drink was prepared using different methods without adding tea. Dark tea leaves were included in the recipe only after the British founded a tea plantation in Assam (India) in 1835. On the plantations, slaves drank tea with spices to increase efficiency and endurance.
Composition of healthy masala consistency
Masala is a sweet “cocktail” with a base of tea and milk in various proportions with spices. The tea contained is usually strong dark loose leaf tea. There are options with whole, skim, almond or soy milk. There are recipes without milk, also with the addition of ice cream. Spices include ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, etc. To add sweetness, sugar, honey or condensed milk are used.
Benefits and harm to the body from consumption, characteristics of tea
This tea is easy to brew, but it’s worth keeping in mind. that it can bring both benefit and harm to the body, the main thing is to understand its properties. The spicy milk drink strengthens the immune system, cleanses the blood (the internal environment of the body, formed by liquid connective tissue. Consists of plasma and formed elements: leukocyte cells and postcellular structures: red blood cells and platelets) , increases the elasticity of blood vessels, restores blood pressure and digestion, reduces hunger and invigorates . Tea has a positive effect on the condition of the skin, saturation of the brain (the central part of the nervous system of animals and humans) with oxygen due to improved blood circulation (Blood circulation is an important factor in the life of the human body and a number of animals) , and helps to cope with nervous exhaustion and depressive conditions.
The worldview that exotic tea has no contraindications is incorrect. Its various ingredients should be taken with caution by children under 10 years of age and people prone to allergies. It is not recommended to drink tea if you have asthma, diabetes, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, stomach and oral ulcers, intolerance to components and while breastfeeding.
Masala Tea Recipes
The highlight of masala is the huge number of recipes for making it. The main thing is to brew correctly, combine the ingredients and adhere to a certain sequence of actions. It is better to drink masala separately from food with the least amount of food as a bite.
It is recommended to add more spices and tea leaves to the morning drink, and prepare lunch tea with water rather than milk. In the evening, exclude tea, add turmeric and halve the amount of other spices. The water used is spring or artesian.
Traditional Masala Chai Recipe
Greenish cardamom and dark pepper crushed in a mortar are poured into the pan. To them add cloves, pippali pepper, and star anise lightly crushed with your fingers. Then dark tea with the remaining spices. After this, pour in milk and water, add sugar and, stirring, bring the mixture to a boil. The tea is immediately removed from the heat, covered with a lid, steeped for 5 minutes, and poured through a strainer into cups.
How to brew masala with ground spices
For 3-4 servings of tea: ½ tsp. greenish cardamom seeds; 10 pieces. dark peppercorns; 1 tsp. anise seeds; ½ tsp. ground ginger; ¼ tsp. ground cloves. All spices are ground in a coffee grinder.
For 2 servings of the finished drink, 300 ml of water is required; 150 ml milk; 2 tsp. dark tea; ½ part ground spices; sugar to taste. Water with milk and spices is brought to a boil. Then tea leaves are added. The purchased drink is brewed for another 2-3 minutes, filtered and served.
How to make masala with orange
This is a dairy-free version of a special tea, similar to mulled wine. For 3-4 servings: 1 l. water, 2 tbsp. spoons of dark tea, 2 oranges, 5-6 pcs. cardamom, 3 g nutmeg, 1 cinnamon stick, 1 tsp. freshly ground dark pepper, 2 cm ginger root, 2 pcs. cloves, sugar to taste.
Water is put on fire. Shortly before boiling, add cardamom, ground in a mortar, pepper, grated nutmeg and ginger, and a cinnamon stick broken in half. In a separate bowl, pour boiling water over the oranges for 1 minute, cut them into slices across the slices and add to boiling water with spices. Remove the mixture from the heat and leave, covered, for 2-4 minutes. After this add cloves.
How to brew masala from ready-made mixture
For 2 servings: 300 ml water, 200 ml milk, 1-2 tsp. sugar, 3-4 tsp. dark tea, 1 tsp. ready-made Masala tea consistency, 1 tsp. ground cinnamon.
Water and milk are brought to a boil. Sugar, the finished mixture and cinnamon are added evenly to them. After boiling, add dark tea, mix well and cook over low heat for 4-5 minutes, stirring lightly. Tea is ready.
How to make masala with honey
For 2 servings of the drink: 400 ml of water, 200 ml of milk, 15 g of dark tea, 10 g of honey, 5 g of fresh ginger and cloves, 1-2 pcs. star anise, 3 pcs. cardamom, 4-5 dark peppercorns, 5 g nutmeg.
Place the container on the fire, add all the spices, not counting the nutmeg. After 1-2 minutes, milk and water are poured in, the mixture is removed from the heat and tea leaves, nutmeg and honey are added. Mix everything, put on fire, bring to a boil and stir for 1-2 minutes. After this, remove the mixture from the heat, cover with a lid, leave for 5 minutes and serve.
Masala for weight loss
For 1 serving: 200 ml of water and milk, 2-3 tsp. dark tea, 1-2 tsp. sugar, ½ tsp. grated ginger root; a pinch of cardamom, dark pepper and cloves; cinnamon, star anise and fennel - to taste.
Bring milk and water to a boil. Ginger and ground spices are added to them, boiled for 3-5 minutes, after which sugar and tea are added. After another 3-4 minutes, the tea is turned off, covered with a lid and infused for up to 10 minutes. This drink will help you lose weight, just like green tea.
The exotic tea of the Indian subcontinent is not a drink for everyone. But for those who like it, the drink can become a true find and inspiration. It’s easy to prepare it without the help of others, choose your own flavor combinations and treat your guests.
You can also read about the traditions of British, Moroccan and Chinese tea drinking or the secrets of the Japanese ceremony. It will be interesting to find out about the characteristics of pottery for tea and the differences between greenish and dark drinks.
Masala: how to create tea from spices and milk
Masala is a common Indian drink whose main ingredient is a mixture of certain spices. So, for example, our mixture includes:
black pepper, cumin, lemon seeds, cantaloupe, mango, tamarind, mint, chili, ajgon, ginger, nutmeg, cumin, cloves, coriander, asafoetida.
The drink warms you up, improves your mood, and gives you a boost of energy! In addition, masala has a beneficial effect on digestion and improves blood circulation (blood circulation throughout the body) .
A mixture of spices can be purchased ready-made, or you can prepare it yourself. In this case, we will need:
- Ginger, cardamom, cloves, dark pepper, cinnamon and anise;
- Brown cane sugar;
- Milk;
- Water;
- Dark tea optional.
Manufacturing
Milk and water are mixed in a 1:1 ratio - about 200 ml of each ingredient. The mixture must be brought to a boil, then add fresh ginger and other spices to it - approximately 2 grams of each.
Let the spices simmer for about 10 minutes, then add 10 grams of coffee sugar. Afterwards, you can add 2-3 teaspoons of dark leaf tea. Tea is added at will - some people prefer to prepare Masala tea only with spices.
Cook for a couple more minutes, then turn off and let it brew for 5 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve.
You need to drink tea hot, preferably from clay cups.
Main spices
- Cloves and star anise will give the tea a unique aroma and astringency;
- Cinnamon will add spice to the tea;
- Cardamom will give the drink the main spicy note.
Blue Masala
Recently, a type of tea drink called blue masala is gaining popularity. The highlight of it is that it is prepared without the use of dark tea - instead, Anchan blue tea is sent into the pan, from which blue matcha is made.
Anchan brings its own unique mild taste to the drink, enriches it with vitamins and other beneficial substances, and also gives the water its own bright blue color.
In order to prepare blue masala at home, you just need to change the dark loose leaf tea to Anchan - you can use both the Clitoria flowers themselves and ground Anchan - blue matcha.
To make the task easier, you can purchase a ready-made mixture of natural Indian spices. Then your favorite warming tea can be prepared in just 10-15 minutes!
Seize the last days of winter, dress warmly and drink warming tea!
Masala tea - 5 spices that you need to make homemade tea.
This article is for all of you who love this spicy and fragrant milk tea consumed throughout much of India and much of East Africa. Naturally, there are a huge number of options, but this article provides instructions on how to make tea with five spices, one of which is absolutely necessary for making tea, which claims to be a home favorite, and also tells us about the use of other amazing spices.
You probably understand that the word “tea” {in itself} means a drink made from the leaf of a tea bush, and the flavored version of tea is called masala chai , and suggests tea with the consistency of spices.
So, what are these spices anyway? What gives most masala teas their signature scents?
The main and most significant spice is green cardamom. When we say “flavored tea,” the dominant taste and smell in it is certainly green cardamom. Indescribably fragrant, with distinct vegetal notes of green spice and pepper, because the green cardamom pods are harvested earlier than the black cardamom pods, which are the most musky and the most smoky.
Green cardamom, whose pods are flattened before brewing, is the basis of most tea recipes. Further tea options can have several directions. But, the remaining four spices are a great baseline and may be more commonly used: cinnamon stick for sweetness and warmth; fennel seeds give a delicate aniseed note; the freshest ginger gives the tea a refreshing spicy-hot color; black pepper gives a fiery heat that is loved by almost everyone.
And other spices are also good in tea mixes: whole cloves are musky and tart; coriander seeds – aromatic and mild, with a citrus note ; Star anise is richer, more aromatic than fennel seed.
Green cardamom forms the base of the tea; then you can combine virtually any of the named spices and make amazing tea for yourself. Some of you lean toward extra-spicy scents with a powerful touch of anise. Maybe you prefer the solemn scent of cloves and don't want to use fennel and anise. Decide for you!
Would you like a hot mug of tea at the moment?
There are two methods of brewing tea:
- Put all the spices in a saucepan with water and boil over low heat, then add milk, tea and sweetener (various types of sugar, you can use honey or maple syrup) and brew for several minutes;
- Soak the spices overnight (that is, at night) in water, then boil over low heat during the day with your favorite tea and milk.
Play with smells. For example, more cardamom if you are a fan of it. Although grocery store merchants say it’s a sin to combine ginger with milk, almost everyone likes the extra warmth it adds. Find your own formula. When you take her out, you will immediately understand this.
Here are some good recipes. Using them, you will feel the catchy predominant taste of green cardamom and the abundance of spices surrounding it. Any of these recipes will teach you how to combine your favorite spices to brew tea.
- Recipe: Masala chai
- Recipe: Authentic Unique Tea
- Recipe: “Edible Thought” for a gift – the best tea mix!
Recipe: Masala chai
- 3/4 cup water
- 2-4 whole green cardamom pods, flattened
- 1-2 thin slices fresh ginger
- Cinnamon stick 2.5 cm
- Star anise (star anise) 1 pc.
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1.5 teaspoons black tea
- Sweetener to taste.
In a small saucepan, combine water, cardamom, ginger, cinnamon stick and star anise. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for a few minutes until the mixture becomes fragrant. Add the milk and tea leaves and keep on the heat for another minute, then turn off the heat and leave for 2 minutes. Pour from the pan into a cup through a fine sieve. Add sweetener to taste.
If you want a very fragrant tea during the day, go in a different direction and start preparing the tea the day before.
In a small saucepan, combine water, cardamom, cinnamon stick and star anise. Don't add ginger. Bring to a boil, turn off and cover the pan with a lid. During the day, add the chopped ginger and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for a few minutes until the mixture is fragrant. Add the milk and tea leaves and cook for another minute, then turn off the heat and leave for 2 minutes. Pour into a cup through a fine sieve. Add sweetener to taste.
Clockwise you see some of almost all the ingredients that are used to make tea: ginger, dark tea, Vietnamese cinnamon, fennel seed, ready-made masala tea, greenish cardamom.
Recipe: Authentic Unique Tea
3/4 cup water plus 1/4 cup milk (if you are using skim or 1 percent milk, then the proportions are half milk and half water)
Sweetener to taste
Approximately 2 teaspoons black tea per cup
Your choice of some or all of the following spices (amounts per medium-sized cup):
- 2 green cardamom pods
- 2-3 whole black peppercorns
- 1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1-2 small pieces of cinnamon (“real cinnamon”, not “Cassia”. May be labeled as “Vietnamese cinnamon”).
- Fresh ginger 2-3 thin slices with skin
Heat water and milk. Before boiling, add fresh ginger, then all or some of the following spices: green cardamom, cinnamon pieces, fennel seeds, black pepper. You can use 1/4 teaspoon of ready-made masala tea per cup and fresh ginger without adding other spices.
When the mixture of milk, water and spices boils, add black tea. Turn off the heat and leave for 2 minutes. Pour into a cup through a sieve. Add sweetener to taste.
Recipe: “Edible Thought” for a gift – the best tea mix!
This is one of the most unique and beautiful handmade gifts, especially if you give it with a mug and one of those interesting long novels that are ideal to read on winter evenings. It’s also great to have this kind of tea on hand for quick crafting or for a nice little surprise gift if you didn’t have time to purchase the gift in advance.
The beauty of this recipe is its elasticity. You can adjust any spice to your own taste or even not use it at all. It’s not a bad idea to use candied ginger instead of fresh ginger, which, of course, will not be stored.
Pink pepper isn't inescapable because it's quite expensive, but it's great added for formal color, especially paired with green cardamom pods. Prepared tea can be stored in a canning jar, a previously used tea tin. You can also purchase small canvas bags, or create your own from pieces of fabric (The structure of tissues of living organisms is studied by the science of histology) . The abilities are limitless!
Ingredients to make 12-16 tea servings:
- 12 green cardamom pods
- 1/2 teaspoon whole pink peppercorns (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon whole cloves
- 1 cinnamon stick approximately 10 cm.
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped candied ginger
- 1/2 cup black tea leaves
Preheat the oven to 175 C°
Using a sharp knife, cut the cardamom pods in half. Place in a baking dish with pepper, fennel, coriander, cloves and cinnamon. Bake in the oven for about 5 minutes, until the spices are fragrant. Remove and cool.
Lightly roll out the spices with a rolling pin or use a mortar and pestle. You may have to crumble the cinnamon sticks with your hands.
Place the spices in a bowl, add the candied ginger and tea and stir. Spoon into container of choice (clay, canvas bag, parchment or waxed cardboard bag, ancient tea tin, etc.). Include beautifully designed brewing notes with your filled tea containers. You can put one tablespoon of tea mix into any tea bag and tie it loosely and carelessly with a beautiful ribbon.
Brew this powerful, silky, tangy, sweet and spicy tea that will be your winner and the authentic tea you've been waiting for.
Masala tea recipe
You can make your own masala tea recipe. To create a masala tea recipe, you need to choose spices according to your own taste. There are general tips that we will look at. Masala tea has a warm, spicy taste. In India, masala tea is consumed at any time of the day.
This drink is drunk not only during meals, but is widely given in stores to attract customers and in all cafes. Masala tea is very suitable for consumption on cool winter days, during the cold and flu season.
Masala Chai Recipe - General Tips
It is recommended to take masala tea during the day or in the first half of the day in case of sluggish mood, drowsiness (It is necessary to distinguish between psychophysiological hypersomnia, observed in practically healthy individuals with insufficient night sleep or under stress, and various pathological variants of hypersomnia) , to raise general tone. It's great to have a cup of masala tea instead of coffee. You will feel a surge of vigor and energy.
There is no one recipe for making masala chai. Each region or family has its own favorite way of making tea. But you need to follow general advice and observe the proportions of water and milk, and also do not overdo it with spices.
The best ratio of water to milk is 2:1, but you can take 3:1 or 4:1, depending on your taste. Readers are offered two options for making tea. Try both, whichever you prefer.
Method of making masala tea No. 1
In this recipe, water is boiled first and milk is added later. Let's analyze everything carefully. In my opinion, this is the best way to make masala tea. Spices manage to fully reveal their own taste. Fundamentally! Before using spices, they should be crushed with your hands, a knife or a special grinder.
If you do not use ready-made powders, then mash the green cardamom pods and cloves, finely chop the fresh ginger root, grate the nutmeg, and crush the cinnamon sticks.
- Water 3 glasses
- Milk 1 glass
- Cloves 3-4 pcs.
- Nutmeg 1-2 pinches
- Ground cinnamon 2 pinches
- Cardamom 2 pinches or 3 greenish pods
- Fresh ginger approximately 0.5 tbsp. or 2 pinches of powder
- Dark tea 1 tsp.
- Sugar 2 tsp. (taste)
Making masala tea
Separately, boil water in a saucepan or ladle, add all the spices to it, let it simmer for 2 minutes. Then add tea leaves to the water with spices and leave for 3-4 minutes. It is not recommended to boil tea leaves. Although some recipes do this.
Add milk and bring to a boil until bubbles form, but do not boil. Add sugar at the end. The masala tea should be strained before serving. You can change the ratio of water and milk, for example, in a ratio of 2:1. It's to taste. For spiciness, you can add a little dark or lemon pepper.
Method of making masala tea No. 2
In this recipe, spices are added to milk.
- Water 2 glasses
- Milk 1 glass
- Greenish cardamom pods 5 pcs.
- Star anise 1 star
- Cloves 3-4 pcs.
- Lemon or allspice pepper 2 pinches
- Ginger 0.5 tbsp. fresh or 2 pinches of powder
- Nutmeg pinch
- Cinnamon pinch
- Sugar 2-3 tsp.
Pour a glass of milk into a ladle and boil. Add all the spices and sugar to the hot milk. Sugar is believed to help bring out the flavor of spices. Let the milk boil for a minute or two. Then set the milk ladle aside. Brew dark tea separately. It turns out to be quite a strong brew.
Boil water in a bowl, bring to a boil, add tea leaves and let steep for 5 minutes. Pour milk with spices into brewed tea. Strain through a strainer and serve.
How to prepare spice mixture for masala chai
You can prepare a mixture of spices for tea in advance. To do this, mix all the spices and add a pinch of the mixture to a cup of tea. All spices should be crushed or purchased ready-ground in powder form.
Composition of masala tea
- Ground cinnamon 1 pinch
- Ground nutmeg 1 pinch
- Ground cardamom 2 pinches
- Dark/lemon pepper 1 pinch
- Ground cloves 2 pinches
- Ground ginger 1 tsp.
Store the mixture for making masala tea in a glass jar in a dry place and use as needed. By choosing the spices to your taste, you can make your own masala tea recipe.