Ginger Cardamom Chai
Indian chai flavored with ginger & cardamom.
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Mornings in India are incomplete without chai, a drink which is now very popular in the western world as well. Chai is a blend of milk, loose black tea leaves, water and lots of other spices. There’s a lot on spices that can go into the chai like cloves, cinnamon, fennel seeds etc. however this one has only 2 – ginger and green cardamom. The tea flavored with these two are the most popular back home, commonly known as adrak wali chai (ginger tea) and elaichi chai (cardamom tea).
The popularity of chai has gone up tremendously in recent times. I mean all the coffee chains here in US do have chai on their menu. Even though the chai latte on their menu doesn’t taste exactly like the Indian chai but it’s close enough, it has milk and spices and I drink it all the time when I’m travelling. My morning doesn’t begin until and unless I sip on my hot chai and even though this is made every day in my kitchen I never though of posting this on the blog, not until today.
Everyone has their own preference when it comes to chai, the list is really long. Some like more milk in their chai, some do not like milk at all. Some prefer stronger chai while others would want very little tea flavor in their chai. Some would not like any spices in their chai while others would not drink it unless there are spices in it (like me!). So you see this recipe can also be adjusted according to preference and taste. If you want a stronger ginger flavor, add more ginger. If you like “milky chai”, add more milk and so on. This is the version that I like and that’s what I’m sharing here.
Also check out another chai recipe on the blog – Masala Chai.
* I do not add sugar in my chai hence I have not mentioned the quantity of sugar in the recipe. You can add as much as you like, according to me 1/2 teaspoon cane sugar per cup should be good enough.
* You can use any tea brand of your choice. I use Society tea.
Ginger Cardamom Chai
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- ⅓ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon black loose tea leaves
- ¼ inch ginger grated
- 2 green cardamom
- sugar to taste
Instructions
- Peel the cardamom and take out the seeds. Crush them using a mortar & pestle. Set aside.
- Heat water in a pan on medium flame.
- Add grated ginger & crushed cardamom seeds.
- Once the water is hot, add the milk and also the sugar.
- Let the milk & spices comes to a boil.
- Add the tea leaves and simmer for a minute or two. Simmer more for a stronger chai.
- Strain the chai into the cup using a strainer.
- Serve hot with cookies.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I’m South Indian, born and raised in Canada and I’ve been playing around with chai recipes found online to see what tastes good. Your recipe surprised me as you add the tea leaves towards the end and it ended up working out so well! The bitterness that I’ve tasted in other recipes, likely due to the tea leaves boiling so much was NOT there in your recipe! Thank you so much for this. I might finally make some chai that will pass inspection with my family LOL.
glad you like it Sandy, I make it in different ways, sometimes I do add the tea leaves before as well
Hi Manali,
Great recipe! I’ve just got back from India and this is just what I needed.
I tried making a larger volume in one go for 6 cups of chai, multiplying the amount of ingredients by 6, but it tastes very watered down. Is there a way to make a big batch but keep the same taste if it was just a single cup?
You will need to boil it for a much longer time if you are multiplying the quantity by 6, I guess you did not boil long enough and hence it tasted watered down.
Hi
Elaichi is not properly infused in water.I don’t know why.
crush with mortar and pestle, then add the cardamom pods to water
I tried this and it was absolutely amazing! Now no one can say I make bad chai anymore! Thanks!
Delicious! I used extra ginger.
ginger is always good in chai!
Delicious! This is my favourite tea.
Added cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg and used brown sugar(like 1 table spoon but it was WAY too sweet so use half maybe) in the beginning.
it’s so hecking tasty!
I’ve been honing in on a chai recipe for over 10 years and have somehow never moved the tea to the final step. Omg. This changes everything and every recipe. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Dear Mem,
Good Day,
I am trying to blend Tea for trading purpose. We are not looking forward to buy a ready blend and market it. I have sources in Assam to give me different grades of tea. My problem is I tried to grind Elaichi in the Kitchen Mixture. I added 1 % to 3 % of Elaichi in a sample of 100 gms. Tea. I mixed it well putting it in a glass bottle. Some coarse powder of Elaichi got settled at the bottom , not getting mixed with Tea unformly. Now when I open the glass bottle with Tea & Elaichi, it did give a good smell of Elaichi. But when we prepare Tea taste of Elaichi is not available in cooked Tea.
With the expertise and experience you have, can you please guide me as to what % of Elaichi should be your added to Tea and to how to grind ultimate fine powder of Elaichi for a perfect blend in Tea to a good taste of Elaichi in cooked Tea P?
Awaiting your kind co operation & guide lines.
Thanks,
Warm Regards,
Paras Kumar Vaishnav
M : 9724681979.
email id : paras.kumar.vaishnav@gmail.com
I have no idea what you’re talking about and I doubt Manali does either. We have no context for what you’re saying.
I understand what you are saying. I would grind the cardamom powder very very fine, then it won’t settle. Use around 20% elaichi to tea (So 100g tea, and 20g elaichi..
Came out yummy!
awesome!
Hi manali. Awesome chai.
One silly question though 🙂 this is for 1 serving. For two, do I just double all ingredients?? I know in most cases this would not be the case but just need to check on your suggestion
Hi Tanya, yes double it..should be fine! 🙂
Your chai, dear Manali, is simply in tune with my preferences. I know, like a curry, everybody makes his own, which is somtimes after umpteenth trial and error sessions…,
Thank you for posting this recipe, enjoy!
Greetings
Ernie Quist
I loved this chai recipe of yours , chai is one thing in a day that what it real indian , then the food may be continentel or of any other part of the world , but a true chai is the best beverage in this world , thanks a lot for the recipe
Welcome! Glad you enjoyed it!
Oh my goodness gracious…love love love this blend of chai tea..Thank you for sharing
welcome, glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
I love this recipe! I posted it on my site =)
My friend makes this tea.which we love so .im going to try ot myself .
Thanks Sarah, hope you give it a try! This is how I drink my chai everyday!