What do you do when the weather is like this .....

When it rains ..... you pour ginger chai tea! This is so warm and comforting when it's pouring outside (quite heavily in Northern California right now). And might I add, it's quite addicting and delicious. 




And it's the easiest darn thing to make. All you need is 4 ingredients - Orange Pekoe tea, ginger, milk, and sugar. The tea can be obtained from an Indian store (this is one thing I honestly recommend - if you want good chai, then you need to get it from an Indian store - the other stuff is just not good). I prefer Taj Mahal chai (Brooke Bond company), but feel free to get any good one that's available.

And I promise you, this is pretty darn good. My mom makes this every time I visit and I'm glad she gave me the recipe.

I use fat-free milk, but if you want a more authentic Indian feel to it, use whole milk. The richness puts it over the top.

Recipe: Ginger indian chai tea (the real stuff and not the thing you see in coffee shops)
Adapted from my mom's recipe (Thanks Mom! You are the best.)
Yield: for one cup

Ingredients:
1 cup of fat free milk
1-2 tbsp of Orange Pekoe tea (depending on how strong you want it)
2 small knobs of ginger cut into very small pieces - the more pieces in the milk, the more easily the flavor gets extracted - how much ginger you add depends on how spicy and warm you want it.
Little more 1 tbsp of sugar

Directions:
1. Steep the milk and ginger  in a saucepan and heat until it is scalding.

2. Add the tea powder and let it boil for a few minutes until it turns nice color (should be a rich creamy brown). Just keep an eye on the milk and make sure it doesn't boil over - can be quite messy - I speak from experience.
3. Strain it through a small strainer into the cup - anything that can strain out the tea powder and the ginger.

4. Add the sugar and stir until combined.

Can you feel the steaming cup of tea right now?

5. Sip slowly and feel the warmth.

This is one of those drinks that you will love - whether it be on a cold rainy day or even in the summer, since it tastes quite fresh.

I think I'll go make myself a cup right now.

Update - if you make this at night, definitely don't go beyond 2 tbsp (use only one tbsp) - I made that mistake and was up until 1:30 am. Although, I guess if you want to pull an all-nighter ....

Kartik