My Yogi teacher friend makes THE most delicious Chai tea I have EVER tasted! I love to visit her house when she has a ‘brew’ on the go as the smell from her kitchen is absolutely gorgeous!
Chai as you probably know, is the name used for ‘tea’ in many parts of the World but India, in particular, has a great many Chai recipes where the spices used in the recipe are chosen due to their amazing health benefits.
Keep reading for my friend’s secret Chai tea recipe & to discover the ‘miracle’ these spices below …..
My Favourite Chai Tea Recipe
In a large saucepan, add the following ingredients:
- 6 cardamon pods – don’t split the pod, leave them whole
- 6 cloves
- 1 cinnamon stick – you can use 3 tsp powered cinammon if you can’t find a stick
- Quarter inch of fresh ginger – or 3 tsp powered ginger but the final chai won’t quite taste the same
- 4-6 black peppercorns – 6 if you like the ‘kick’ of fresh black pepper
- 7-8 cups of water
Bring everything to the boil with a lid on the pan to prevent water evaporation, then let it simmer for upto 30 minutes – longer if you can – remembering to top up the water if the pan begins to boil dry.
Drink hot with or without milk & an optional dash of honey. Yum!
The Spice Miracle!
Cinammon – a warming spice that keeps your arteries healthy, regulates blood sugar levels and lower cholesterol.
Ginger – proven to help with motion sickness & food poisoning, found to have anti-inflammatory properties & is a natural painkiller amongst many other beneficial properties
Cardamon – a warm spice that improves digestion & enhances appetite, helps in the cleansing & detoxing of the body and is known in Ayurvedic medicine to help balance all three doshas – pitta, kapha & vatta – hence it is known as tridosha.
Cloves – a natural antiviral, antimicrobial, antiseptic, and anti-fungal agent. Oil of cloves has been used in a variety of health conditions including indigestion, generalized stress, parasitic infestations, cough, toothaches, headache, and blood impurities
Black Peppercorn – anti-oxidant & anti-bacterial, rich in flavonoid polyphenolic anti-oxidants like carotenes, cryptoxanthin, zea-xanthin and lycopene. These compounds help the body remove harmful free radicals and help protect from cancers and diseases.
Let me know what you think once you’ve made the recipe. Enjoy!
