Chai - More Than Just A Drink - It's An Experience

When I married Rob .. he introduced me to the joys of curry .. but he didn't tell me about the ultimate Indian experience which .. of course ..would be CHAI. This I discovered when we got to India. We moved to North India for language study .. and because I was in full time study .. a cook was part of the deal. He is the one who introduced me to chai. The ordinary stuff without spice as served in many Indian homes is pretty good .. but Diwan changed it from a nice cuppa .. to a pleasure for the senses. After a day in class .. I would come home to a glorious cup of spiced chai .. a mingling of cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, black tea, sugar and milk. The smell and taste became .. for me .. the best escape from the stresses around me.

I was expecting our third daughter at the time and my niece, Suzy, kindly consented to join us there to help with the whole new baby thing. She was the first of the family to enjoy this experience with me. We would buy bulk digestive biscuits at the local store to enjoy with our chai . A few years later .. another niece, Joanne, joined us in Pakistan where she learned the joys of chai. Her husband would come to call it "pumpkin pie in a mug". While in Pakistan I discovered the perfect teapot for chai. It is enamel and can be used on the stove .. and it is very hard to find in Canada. I found a few similar teapots in Africa .. and Kristin got her lovely red one while she was living there. So here I am back in Pakistan .. once again I have found the teapots .. and I am collecting them .. because life without chai just isn't worth thinking about and my recipe for chai works best in one of these.

I am including the recipe once again in my blog .. because it really is worth it.

Chai
3 cups water
3 tsp black tea
6 green cardamom
6 cloves
2 - 2 inch cinnamon sticks
1 star anise (optional)
1/3 cup sugar
1 tin evaporated milk
Bring water, tea and spices to boil .. boil for 3 minutes. Add sugar and milk .. bring back to boil. Take off heat and allow flavors to blend for about 5 minutes.