Several years ago my sister made me some cardamom chai. I think it might have been the first chai I’ve ever had and even though I’ve had many from different sources since then, it remains my favorite. It’s so simple with smooth, clean flavor and no spice except cardamom.
It was difficult pinning her down to definite amounts of ingredients. She’d gotten the recipe from her mother-in-law and as often happens, mother-in-laws don’t have definite amounts for their recipes. They cook by heart.
By playing with the amount of milk and sugar you can change the flavor and creaminess. Adding different sugars changes the flavor slightly as does adding vanilla or other flavorings. I’ll start with the basic recipe I got from my sister. Here’s how she gave me the recipe.
Dark Tea from Indian store (I asked what tea. She said oh, I’ll just give you some.)
A lot of water (I asked how much. She showed me what pot she uses.)
Some cardamom seeds (I asked how many. She said, I don’t know, just a couple.)
Sweetened condensed milk (I asked how much. She said she didn’t know.)
Put a pan of water on the stove, bring to boil.
Add some tea and cardamom and cook for a while. (How long is a while?)
Then add some sweetened condensed milk.
Boil it some more until a scum forms on top. (Scum? Yuk.)
Turn off heat, strain and serve.
Add more sugar if necessary. (Which she always does!)
Guessing at other people’s recipes is always fun but I’m sure you’d like to have a recipe that you can recreate so, here’s my version.
Cardamom Chai
about 1/3 c. Black Assam Tea (recommended brand is Taj)
8 c. water
6-8 cardamom pods (whole)
½ can sweetened condensed milk
½ tsp. vanilla
milk or half & half
Bring water to boil. Add tea and pods.
Keep at a medium boil until it is reduced by half.
Stir in sweetened condensed milk and cook for another 10 minutes until a “scum” forms. (Yes, just a little bit…) Remove from heat and add vanilla.
Strain through very fine strainer.
Use immediately or store in refrigerator for up to 5 days.
To serve:
Fill coffee cup ¾ full, add milk or half and half to taste. You can add more sugar if you like it really sweet but taste it first. It may just be perfect.
As for the variations, I’ve made it with regular milk, dried milk, cream, honey and raw sugar. Each of the combinations are a little different but as long as you keep the tea and the cardamom consistent it hardly makes a huge difference. I admit, my favorite is with the sweetened condensed milk but then again, I eat that stuff right out of the can. Try it and let me know what you think.
*Notes: I’ve since made it and iced it. It’s delicious! Seems like it needs a little more sweetness when it’s cold but it might just be me.