If you compare chai recipes across Pakistan, India, and the rest of South Asia, you’ll find variation not only in the ingredients, but in the process as well.

Some folks, who shall not be named, insist that only dried ginger can be used, because the fresh will curdle your milk. While this is accurate, it is also true that simmering the ginger first will denature the protease that acts as the curdling agent.

I’ve been making chai with fresh ginger since before I was born, and have never had it curdle. EVER. These were the famous last words that inspired the title of this entry. I’m still recovering from that curdled catastrophe.

 

 

Masala Chai

3-5 thin slices of fresh ginger

1/3 of a cinnamon stick

5-7 cardamom pods

3-7 cloves

a pinch of mace

1/4 teaspoon of peppercorns (I use a blend, along with grains of paradise, and spicebush)

2 cups of water

2 tablespoons of Assam tea leaves

1 teaspoon of rose petals (ideally Rosa rugosa, beach rose)

1 cup whole milk

splash of vanilla

raw honey, or brown sugar (See Notes)

 

Preparation:

1. Set water to boil with ginger.
2. Using a mortar and pestle, break down the remaining spices and add to the water. 
3. Brew/simmer until liquid is reduced by at least half, add milk, and bring to boil again.
4. Add tea leaves, simmer until milk foams, lower heat, then increase again. Repeat this cycle 2 or 3 times.
5. Strain into cups, and sweeten with honey (or not).

 

Notes & Substitutions:

• For a richer brew, you can omit water, and use all milk.
• Milk first tames the tannins. If you want a more brisk tea, switch steps 3 & 4.
• If using brown sugar, you can caramelise the ginger in it, and then proceed as described above.
• Nut milks > be mindful of the heat, as it can sometimes cause the oils to separate and float on top of the chai.  
• For those avoiding honey/sugar/maple syrup, blended medjool dates (or date syrup) are a lovely option.