Warming up with a hot cup of tea can soothe the soul. I am talking about the quintessential India milk tea with spices.
I never was a tea drinker until I met my husband. He is the one who taught me to make a good cup of Indian milk tea; strong and aromatic. And now I am hooked onto it. Although, I still enjoy my coffee mornings, but do crave for this tea as the afternoon transitions into evening.
The Indian milk tea with spices has multiple versions. Every Indian tea-drinking household will have its own recipe of it. I am sharing my recipe of the spiced Indian tea using the favourite holiday spice – Cinnamon. I love using Cinnamon and ginger in my tea. They are known for their anti-inflammatory properties and are filled with antioxidants. These are reasons enough to include them in your daily diet and tea.
So, let get started, here is the recipe:
- 1 cup – water
- 1/2 cup – milk (you can increase or decrease depending on preference)
- 2 tsp – Indian Tea powder (I use Red Label’s herbal blend)
- 1 inch – fresh ginger
- 1/2 inch – cinnamon stick (please use Ceylon cinnamon)
- 2 – green cardamom pods
- Sweetener – sugar/ honey/ jaggery
- Pound the ginger and cardamom pods using a mortar and pestle.
- In a deep saucepan, add the water, pounded and ginger and cardamom pods, the tea and cinnamon stick.
- Let the water boil with the spices and tea say about 3 minutes approximately.
- Add milk to it and now let it boil over low to medium flame till you a get a deep brown/pinkish-tan colour.
- Strain the tea, leaving the spices and tea out.
- Add the sweetener of choice. Serve hot!
Just ensure you use Ceylon cinnamon and not the cassia one. Ceylon cinnamon has better taste, aroma and delivers a better overall flavour.
As I mentioned earlier, there are various versions of Indian milk tea. Here are some commonly used spices to make this tea are:
- Fennel
- Star Anise
- Cloves
- Cinnamon
- Ginger
You can use any of these spices and make it your own. So, curl up in this cold weather with your version of hot tea! Happy Sipping.
