Masala Chai tea: 2 recipes to make a tea full of spices
With the name of Masala Chai (or Chai Masala) is a very traditional and popular typical drink from South India, which consists of a mix of black tea with spices and aromatic herbs. It stands out for being a natural drink very consumed by the popular classes, being very common to find vendors through the Indian streets known by the name of chai wallahs.
Although there are different versions depending on the place of the country where we are, the traditional version of masala chai is elaborated with the known ones like hot species, among which are ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, pepper and star anise. However, in the west of the country they do not use black pepper or anise, and they change black tea for green tea. In addition, it is common to add almonds and sometimes saffron to the latter version.
It is also very common that today is accompanied by milk, although if we take into account that milk tends to detract both the aroma and the taste of this delicious beverage (not counting its loss of benefits), there is no doubt that always the best option is to elaborate the traditional version.
How to make a Masala Chai tea from South India
First of all we propose the elaboration of a Masala Chai tea Traditional of South India, like the one that is prepared in this popular place. In addition, we must emphasize that we are, therefore, before the original recipe.
Ingredients needed:
- 2 tablespoons of black tea
- 1 tablespoon of cardamom
- 2 tablespoons cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons of cloves
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon star anise
- 1 teaspoon ginger powder
- 1 liter of water
Steps to prepare Masala Chai tea from South India:
First put in a dry bowl all spices and black tea, mixing everything well with the help of hands or a wooden spoon. Put the water in a saucepan and let it reach the boiling point. Then add the mixture of spices and black tea, turn off the heat, cover the saucepan and let it sit for 5 minutes. Finally, strain it, sweeten it to taste if you prefer and serve it.
How to make a Masala Chai tea from Western India
This time we are going to learn how to make a Masala Chai tea from Western India, in which we will replace black tea with green tea, to which we will also add almonds.
Ingredients needed:
- 2 tablespoons of green tea
- 1 tablespoon of cardamom
- 2 tablespoons cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons of cloves
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon star anise
- 1 teaspoon ginger powder
- 1 handful of raw and peeled almonds
- 1 liter of water
Steps to prepare Masala Chai tea from western India:
First cut the almonds into pieces and grind them well to form a fine powder. Then put in a bowl all the spices, green tea and ground almonds, and mix everything well with your hands. Now put the water in a saucepan and let it reach the boiling point. When you reach this point the mixture of green tea, almonds and spices, turn off the heat, cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Finally sneak and drink.
The benefits of Masala Chai tea
Masala Chai tea is a natural drink extremely rich in benefits and properties, to be elaborated with spices, tea (black tea or green tea depending on the option chosen), and almonds. As we see, it is not only a drink with high content in curative and preventive qualities, but also nutritional. We highlight the most important below:
- Wonderful digestive: when containing spices with effect and digestive action it becomes a very interesting drink when it comes to helping us to do better digestion, being useful especially in case of heavy or slow digestions.
- Rich in antioxidants: it is a drink very rich in natural antioxidants, among which we can mention flavonoids and catechins. They are beneficial in reducing - and protecting us from - the negative action of free radicals, while decreasing the risk of premature cell aging.
- Cardioprotector: it is a drink that being rich in natural antioxidants helps in a very powerful way when it comes to protecting and taking care of our heart.
- Prevents cardiovascular diseases: precisely because of its antioxidant qualities it is an excellent option when it comes to preventing problems, affections and cardiovascular diseases. In this sense, it helps reduce high cholesterol and triglycerides. In addition, it favors an adequate blood circulation.
Images | ISTOCKPHOTO / THINKSTOCK TopicsTea
