The perfect cuppa chai...

I seriously believe that if you like having chai (tea) or coffee, you should have it the way you want it. I am very wary of the chai I drink. If it is not as per my taste, I normally don't drink it. So is the case with coffee. If you ask me if I am a tea or a coffee person, well - it depends on my mood!!! Most of the time, I prefer drinking tea, as I feel that I prepare tea better. But when I am outside, I prefer coffee - filter coffee to be specific. Anybody reading this post - if you know where I can get the filter coffee gasket in Dubai, please let me know. I cannot wait to make my own filter kaappi at home, at my leisure!!!

Today's post is just a depiction of how I make my tea. Coming to making the tea, the recipe is courtesy my HD. When we got married, I was a complete zero in cooking. I could not make a decent tea, which was something my HD couldn't take. So the first lesson he taught me was how to make tea. Even though, I have now perfected it (so I say!!!) after almost 9 years of practicing  still sometimes he feels that I have not reached its pinnacle  I know, husbands are also hard to satisfy at times! I don't mean to say HD is demanding, in fact, he is the most flexible man I have found in my life, but when it comes to his tea, no compromise!!! My tea is pretty strong, so if you are somebody who loves it more milky, you can reduce the quantity of tea. I am putting in a couple tips below, which may be helpful, I hope... :)

Feel like having it from the screen...

Mixed...Ingredients

Ingredients:

1 cup water
1 heaped tbsp milk powder
1/4 tsp cardamom powder or 2 cardamoms crushed
1 tbsp tea powder
1 tbsp sugar (to taste)

Method:

Mix all ingredients apart from sugar in your saucepan. Keep it on medium flame and bring it to a rolling boil. Once it starts boiling, check if it as per your required strength. If not, then keep it on low flame and continue boiling till the desired strength is reached.

Boiling...

Switch off the flame and mix in the sugar. Now why didn't I add the sugar in the beginning? I used to do that till very recently and wait for ages for the tea to start boiling, in the process my tea used to get too strong to actually get the taste of it. Recently, when I visited a family friend, I saw her adding sugar after the tea boiled. When I enquired, she said that she had seen in a video that sugar slows down the boiling process of water. And yes, it seemed to be true!!! Without the sugar, the milk with tea boils faster and you are able to control the strength of the tea... Interesting, isn't it?

Now pour half into a glass and pour it back. This will ensure proper mixing. Finally, pour into your mug using a lifted sieve  to get those bubbles on the top. Actually pouring it from a height gives it kind of a different flavor. I guess you have to try it to know it!!! :)

Tips:

1. If you don't like milk powder, no worries! Substitute with 1 cup of whole milk, or 3/4 cup milk + 1/4 cup water. Somehow, tea made in low fat milk does not taste that nice - personal opinion!!!!

2. You can skip the cardamom if you don't like its taste. But I mean, is there anybody who does not like its taste???

3. You can add more spices if you want, ie. a pinch of cinnamon, a small piece of crushed ginger, a couple of cloves... It's up to you. Then it will be called masala chai!!! :)

4. You can use tea bags, but it will not give you the extra strength. If you want lighter milk tea, one tea bag should be more than sufficient.

5. On a personal note, I prefer Eastea or Kannan Devan tea for preparation. Once you get used to the hang of drinking tea, each tea powder will have its difference. It's just like having Bru or Nescafe, though it takes time to be evident!

On a lighter note, I saw this cartoon on FB yesterday and I felt that was full of me... How many of you feel this way??? ;)