It’s impossible to spend time in India and not drink tea (better known as chai). It’s usually served very sweet and milky. However, there are some delicious variations of masala chai.
I was thrilled to receive a gift in the mail today. It was a thoughtful thank you gift from some special expat friends in Chennai. It was just the kind of gift I love. A big gift made up of lots of smaller gifts. Even better, it smelled divine! Part of the gift was the ingredients to brew up some very tasty chai. Cinnamon, ginger, cloves — they were all there, along with a book of enticing coffee and chai recipes. I’m not at all familiar with how to make good chai, so it will be very helpful for me.
My husband very excitedly took over the kitchen and started preparing masala chai. I’m inspired to experiment with the recipes though. Here’s a refreshing one from the book:
Mulled Pineapple Tea
2 cups of water
2 cups of pineapple juice
2 tea bags
1 tea spoon of whole cloves
2 sticks of cinnamon
1 sliced lemon
Heat water and pineapple juice in a saucepan until it starts to boil. Add cloves, cinnamon, lemon slices, and tea bags. Simmer for 10 minutes. Strain out spices and tea bags. Serve hot.
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{ 86 comments… read them below or add one }
In Greece we call tea chai as well
We are very fond of it and you can find a really good cup of chai in everywhere.
In Tigrinia, it’s also called chai – pronounced chahi. Tigrinia is the language of Eritrea. I love to learn words that are used in the same way in different languages.
By the way, Sharell, I love you’re blog. You tell your thoughts so honestly and sincerely. I’m not Indian myself but I have an insatiable desire to hear about the cultural experiences of people who make a life in a new country. I can tell life is a passion for you. Wish you bright days ahead!
Book of tea recipes?
Never heard of that! Sounds divine! 
Name and Author please? 
From left to right what I can make out seems to be cinnamon, ginger, ???, cloves. What’s in the third packet?
Star anise?
What great gift to get in the mail that is for sure. Who wrote the book? Karterina I did not know that in Greece that Tea was called chai I learned something new yay! I love Chai but not super sweet that is for sure. Do tell us how your gits was.
Yes, I think it’s star anise (the name on the sticker in Tamil is Anasi Pu).
For those interested in the book, I’ve tracked down an on-line listing. It’s published by a company called Nightingale in Tamil Nadu. The great thing about the book is that it’s also a notebook. There are pages in it to write other recipes and notes.
http://www.nightingalestore.com/site/Home-Category/Social-Stationary/products.asp?id=4-129-Exotic-Coffee-&-Tea-Book–A5
very interesting, as for me a non chai drinker, i have never even tasted tea EVER !! yes pls believe me
and i dnt think i can make decent chai either, but for the sake of my chai loving husband, i wld like to try this
thanx girl !!!
Hey, you’re welcome shalini. That’s amazing that you’ve never even tasted chai! I’m not a chai drinker either but the chais in this book with all the masalas are really yummy — not like normal chai at all.
I’ll have to post some more recipes from the book!
Here’s another recipe.
Spicy Milk Tea
4 tablespoons of green tea
6 whole cloves
1/2 ground ginger
1 tea spoon of cinnamon
1 cup of milk
1 cups of water
Boil water and then simmer with cinnamon, ginger, and clove for about 10 minutes. Add tea and steep (leave it in there and let it brew, with the gas turned off) for another 5 minutes. Add milk and heat until near boiling. Strain out the spices and tea leaves. Serve chai with a bit of honey.
Sounds delicious!
I am not really fond of tea. However I cant resist the kashmiri Kahwa tea. It tastes awesome. I tried it when I used to stay in the hostel and 2 of my flat mates were kashmiris. The aroma is so refreshing that you would crave for more. Simply love it. Apart from this, I am in love with the herbal tea served in chinese restaurants here in delhi. I am no very sure whether this tea is genuinly from China or not, but I love the taste.
I like Kashmiri Kahwa too. I guess Laureen likes it too
I dont know what star anise is, except that some people put it in rice for the aroma. (Wiki tells me it’s used to make biryani too, that must be where I’ve seen it, I don’t know where to get it in Delhi)
Thanks for the link to the tea book. I’m off to order it.
Hmm I am feeling all enthusiastic about tea now…it is even making me want to overcome my born and bred Australian laziness/impatience and actually prepare a mix myself!
Impatient is right.
Patient people sit in the cab till they reach their destination. 
The sweet and milky Indian chai isn’t my thing, to be honest. I prefer my tea warm (~not hot) with a dash of lemon and a pinch of sugar.
By the way, tea is known as chai in Russian and other CIS languages as well.
Hahahaha at Ramit. I can’t deny it…although of course I toootally will blame it on the American, all fast paced that they are…not like sleep old lagging twenty years behind Australia… You seriously made me lol and I was in a right grump, so thank you…now you will have to endure not just dinner but lunch as well…
You know that…you have heard the laugh of evil…we go ‘mwhahahahaha’ with a sinister echo
Ok, now I am all sentimental, because I only just realised that the blog is on Indian time (I mean as in 2.5 hours behind Perth, not as in late lol)
And yes I made the late comment purely to upset whatshisname
Sinister? You?
ROFL No way! You’re too cute!
HAHA…OMG you guys….Hi Sharell! Im home again…and sad….Ramit, i miss you …cathy…miss you too…and I dont think the American had anything to do with it…..lol
Grr…what do I have to do to convince you?! I was going to change my name to Sinister Evil Cathy, but I have to show some mercy on Sharell lol.
And yes, Laureen, we get very silly when left unsupervised…and yeah…America is the root of all evil you know
(we are doing our best but we are just too little and powerless for anyone to notice our efforts…which is why we are just tagging along with you guys 
)
Hahahahahahahahahaha! Hey where did poor ol’ India go here?
Geez Cathy it’s almost midnight there! Go to sleep! Don’t you have work tomorrow?
India is too nice…I need to be granted permanent residency and a villa in Andheri or Bandra or Juhu and then I will put the full force of my evil mind behind India…and then we (India) can topple the evil Americans!
And yes, it is now officially past midnight…but um I was busy looking up flights for December…important stuff that… And no work…I have made it to work only half a day since back as still sick lol (on 3rd course of antibiotics now and I swear this will be it). But yes…dad
I will go to sleep…:D
And ahem, Ramit, please address me correctly…it is ‘Evil Cathy’…it passed Sharell’s moderation process so I consider it all official now
Will also accept ‘your evilness’ as a form of address…or better still, ‘your most sinister evilness’…
Evil (cute) Cathy. Now lets stop this before Kolapatty scolds the both of us!
Nooo…being evil I delight in creating problems
I should be nice though…he really was entertaining…
So you accept it was you created the problem of the
runaway 
cab driver and not the American? Lol 
Haha never! The American (lol) was the one who saw the sign… I am a compulsive planner – go armed with directions and/or map to hotel, address and phone number in case I need to call them for directions…
Evil troublemaker…grrr…serves you right then that not just one, but three Australians will be back to plague your country next year
Dear Sharell and CG,
Indian food is no doubt the best in the world in terms of taste and variety but sometimes it does get boring to eat the same routine Indian stuff . That is the reason why chinese , Thai , Italian food is becoming popular in Delhi .
There is a Russian restaurent , Bline at Anand Niketan , Delhi . The atmosphere in Bline is a world away from the boisterous Punjabiness that is the average Delhi restaurant. Here people speak in hushed tones, inaudible even at the table abutting theirs, and the only sound that is allowed to carry is from the TV, which plays a constant stream of Russian soap operas and films. The owner and chef, Alexander Melnikov himself came to take the order . Melnikov runs the restaurent with his wife Elena . His daughters and mother live in Russia . Melnikov comes from Vladivostok in eastern Russia . Bline at Anand Niketan, is a small restaurent with four neatly laid out tables and a tiny adjoining kitchen. The first thing I ordered was some Kompot, a sort of reddish-coloured mixed fruit juice that is similar to rhododendron squash . Its cost was Rs 40 . Then came borsch, a hearty red soup originally from Ukraine . The restaurent’s signature dish is Blines (pancakes) and Russian momos .
My main course was Stroganoff . Traditionally in Russia stroganoff is made of beef but I had the vegetarian version made of mashed potatoes with some fresh sliced tomatoes and dills. I had the honey bline for dessert .
On the whole, a very warm, hearty and homely meal. Just like the Russians I got to know in Moscow . My total bill was Rs. 240 which is a steal for such good food .
Shaunak, when did you come to Delhi?
Dear Ramitji,
I was born in Sevagram , a small village in Wardha district of Maharashtra . When I was 2 years old my parents moved to Delhi . All my schooling and early college education has been in Delhi . I love Delhi . Delhi is the cultural capital of India . It is easy to live here and there are so many places to enjoy life . Also the civic infrastructure in Delhi and NCR is one of the best in India .
This New Year you should try some Russian food at Bline . Russian food is healthy , tasty and has subtle flavours . I am enclosing the address , telephone no. and mobile no. of Bline ( Russian Restaurant ) below .
Mobile : 9810197494
Phone : 011-24114217
Address : Shop No. 15, Anand Niketan Market, New Delhi-110017.
Geez thanks Shaunak. Much much appreciate your kind words for Delhi. Call me when you’re in Delhi next. I’d love to take you out for dinner.
Ramit and Shaunak, can I please join you two for that dinner?
Shaunak is driving me crazy with his descriptions – I feel hungry already!! I love Russian food – we also have borsch and compot, they are healthy and tasty foods!
Shaunak, next time you go try Zakuska – there’s nothing better
And its 100% vegetarian
You’ll be most welcome anytime CG.
Oh, I love tea
I’m going to try this! Thanks for posting.
Dear CG,
Thanks a lot for your suggestion . Zakuska sounds good and the fact that it is vegetarian makes it even better . When I was staying in Moscow as a paying guest (PG) in 2006 our land lady used to serve us Slabs of pork, fillets of tilapia (which I loved precisely because they didn’t smell like fish), dumplings, mashed potatoes with generous amounts of sour cream and soya sauce . At that time I used to eat non veg . If I eat such stuff for a few months I will surely gain weight .
Dear Ramitji , thanks a lot for your offer of taking me out for dinner . I shall inform you whenever I have such program . This New Year you should try some Russian food at Bline . I can’t precisely say whether Russian food will suit your ‘Indian Palate’ but there are many vegetarian options at Bline and it is definitely worth a try .
Speaking of weight gain, one thing that seems incredible to me: Russian food, like Romanian one, is not always easy on the stomach. It’s very tasty, but also very satiable. We eat “everything that moves”: pork, beef, chicken, duck, goose, goat, lamb… (I should stop here, not to horrify you
), many times fried in oil and generally it means providing our system with lots of protein and fats. Still, Eastern European girls are rather thin, while Indian vegetarian girls I heard they tend to get plumpy, especially after their 30s. Why is that? Could anyone try to explain?
Dear CG,
Indians are genetically pre-disposed to obesity , heart disease and diabetes . India is the diabetes capital of the world . Maximum number of cases of heart disease in the world are also reported from India . It is not just Indian females , even Indian males have a tendency of middle obesity ( paunch ) . East Europeans for that matter do not carry the genes for obesity . So they remain slim . In Russia every second or third girl I saw was good looking and smart . Another reason for obesity in India is the use of Desi Ghee in cooking in North India and Coconut in South India . Desi Ghee and coconut are rich in saturated fats . Also most of the Indian families prefer to consume full cream milk rather than toned or skimmed milk .
Dear Shaunak,
Thank you so much for your message, i really didnt know all these things – it’s simply amazing how i learn new things about India and Indians everyday from Sharell’s posts and from her commentors. You, especially, as i said before, have a nice way with words and explaining things.
One more think I would like to know: are Indians sports-oriented? Is exercising daily a part of their routine? It could ease the obesity pace…
Dear CG,
Majority of the Indians are not sports oriented . In an average educated middle class Indian family the emphasis is more on education than on sports . The only sports majority of the Indians like is cricket . Cricket has a huge fan following in the country . In cricket pakistan is our arch rival . In the 1990s if any side (India/Pakistan) lost the match the cricket fans of that country (India/Pakistan) would break their television sets due to anger and desperation . I remember in the cricket world cup 2003 when India lost to Australia there were wide spread protests and riots in many cities of India . Even our politicians do not like the idea of Indian cricket team losing to any other country’s team . Sharad Pawar , an Indian politician is the head of BCCI (Board of cricket control in India ). Many Indian cricket players also have political connections . Because of cricket other sports are neglected in India .
Field Hockey is the national sport of India . It is ironical that despite being a national sport of India field hockey has been given a step motherly treatment . Hockey players in India do not even earn enough to meet their both ends . One such hockey player Mr. Aslam Sher Khan on becoming a member of the Parliament (MP) wrote a book titled ” To hell with hockey”. CG, I recomend you to watch the film “Chak De India” to know more about Indian hockey and its sorry state of affairs . Indian athletes in other sporting fields like wrestling , boxing , cycling , archery are not given adequate facilities and state support . Indian athletes often have to do odd jobs like working as a waiter , sweeper to meet their both ends . In 1952 India qualified for the world cup football but Indian players could not participate in the competition because they didn’t have money to buy sports shoes . The Indian government also did not provide any assistance to the football team . All in all Indian athletes have a hand to mouth existence and no financial security after retirement . Is there any doubt why the Indian sports contingent sent to the olympics returns home with few medals ?
Majority of the Indians don’t exercise daily . Indian women are very much family oriented and after marriage when they have children they are so much engrossed in the household chores , upbringing of children that they have very little time for exercise and health . Yoga may have originated in India but in India it has very little followers . The youngsters of my age group ( 20-25 years) are health conscious and go to gym , exercise daily . But I wonder whether they will lead the same healthy life style after marriage .
How do you cook without desi ghee? Milk isn’t milk if it isn’t full cream. Have white color water instead.
Shaunak, like many other valuable talented people that sometimes are not supported by the Indian decision-makers, i see sportsmen (with the exception of cricketers) are sharing the same destiny. It made me sad to read your post, it’s really such a pity…
I can relate a bit to it, as “oina” (a form of baseball) is the national sport of my country, but nobody plays it, they are all mad about football (or soccer). Oina players must get oriented towards other occupations. Still, the Government here is interested in financing and supporting sports and sport clubs – especially if they bring good results or medals.
I would definitely try to find and watch the film you recommended! As for the regular people in India that dont exercise, now the diabetes being prevalent there is even more explained
But, hopefully the younger generation will change things and teach their kids to stay healthy and fit.
Ramit, you are crazy hahahaha!!!! Anyone can find and use milk with a lower fat content, come on
It tastes as better, trust me 
No it doesnt Claudia. Full cream milk is yummmmmmmmmmy. Yuuummmmmmmuuumy. Yummmmmmmmmmmmmy.
Shaunak, why do you say
youngsters 
are 20 to 25 years of age? Heehee! Why can’t they be 30 to 35? 
Well, ….YES!! Must admit it’s yummy, Ramit
, but it’s not that healthy 
Ah, yes, i wish people between 25 and 30 would be considered still youngsters