Indian Chai Latte
This traditional chai tea has been made for many, many generations by thousands of Indian housewives who knew that good food is never cooked in a hurry. They take their time to prepare their tea from scratch with spices that are as fresh as possible. Add some fluffy, dairy-free milk of your choice (or raw milk) and you have a Chai Latte! Snuggle up to watch a movie with one of these – it feels like such a yummy treat and yet it is filled with wonderful Indian spices to stimulate your digestive system.
Ingredients
INGREDIENTS
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 3 Tbsp grated fresh ginger root
- 6 cardamom pods
- 1 long cinnamon stick 25cm or so
- 3 tsp cloves
- 8 cups of water
- 3 rooibos tea bags or organic black tea
- 1 ½ cups quality milk alternative I use soy milk
- optional Manuka honey for sweetening
Instructions
PREPARATION
- Crush the black pepper, ginger root, cardamom pods, cinnamon stick and cloves together.
- Pour 8 cups of water into a saucepan and add the crushed spices and tea bags along with the optional seeds from the vanilla pod – see Chef’s Hint.
- Bring to a boil and turn down to a healthy simmer for 15 minutes.
- Take out the teabags at this point to prevent the tea becoming too strong.
- In a separate saucepan, warm ¼ cup of soy milk per person. Once hot, place into a Bodum or milk ‘frother’ and pump till fluffy.
- Using a strainer or teapot with strainer, fill the desired number of cups up to ¾ full with the chai brew.
- At this point, add a small amount of Manuka honey if desired and stir through. Top immediately with the frothy milk and decorate (if you are that way inclined) with some ground cinnamon.
- If serving in a pot, you can garnish with a cinnamon stick.
- Enjoy and make sure you serve it in a big cup!