Heavenletters

I was passing by the forums and saw Jimi's interesting post. May I share 2 quick chai recipes...

The first one is the slow preparation method with raw ingredients...

10 pods cardomon (elachie)
3 cloves
3 black peppers corns
1 stick of cinnamon
2 tablespoons Rooibos or 1 tablespoon organic black tea
3-4 Tablespoons honey
1 cm grated ginger root

Pound everything in a mortar and pestle except the tea
Throw them in some water (this quantity is enough for 3 cups) and simmer for 10min
Add the tea and 5 tablespoons of good tasting rice/soy milk powder or 1/2 cup milk
Remove from stove and let steep for 'bout 5min, strain and then add the honey adjusting to your sweetness preference.

The second method is an instant chai recipe and is awesome for winter

30 pods cardomon
5 cloves
3 sticks cinnamon (around 5cm long per stick)
8 black pepper corns
5 Tablespoons Rooibos or 4 normal black tea leaves
2 cups powdered milk or soy/rice milk powder
1/2 teaspoon ginger powder (adjust according to purity of powder)

Add everything except milk powder to a coffee grinder and grind as fine as possible. Sift the powder through a fine mesh sieve to remove any tea leaves and particles that were not ground to powder. Add this to the milk powder and mix well.

Just add 3-4 heaped teaspoons to boiling water and honey! You decide how strong you want it by adding more instant chai powder. Use more or less spices depending on your preference. Allow the chai to settle before drinking as there will be some sediment.

I this for some ladies at the stables night flea market in Durban and they liked it more than the commercial instant chai mix. Its also alot more affordable than the commercial mix.

Enjoy.
p.s The season is shifting here in the southern hemisphere and the air has just enough cool warrant a home made chai. Salut!