Chai Spice and Tea Recipes
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
By: Gayle Engels

Good as a Gift Idea or just for yourself

Here's a recipe that has a number of options. The main one is whether you use whole herbs for a chai tea concentrate or powdered herbs for a blend for cooking and baking. Then there is the matter of quantity - how much of each herb you use. The recipe should be adapted to your particular taste. For example, if you don't like black pepper, by all means, leave it out. Additionally, if you maintain a dairy-free diet, adapt the tea recipe by using water instead of milk and adding milk substitute as the final step to achieve that milky effect.

Directions are included for both whole spice chai for tea and powdered chai spice for cooking. The cooking blend is good in oatmeal and for adding to baked goods such as cookies, pumpkin pie, quick breads and cakes. Start by adding a teaspoon per batch and increase until you have just the right combination that pleases your palate. Once you develop a recipe adaptation that you like, you can make a gift of the recipe and a small jar of the Chai Spice to your friends who cook. The chai tea blend also makes a great gift. Just remember to include directions.

Chai concentrate for tea:

Lightly crush each of the following ingredients with a mortar and pestle. Combine and store in an airtight container in a dark cabinet if you use dried ginger. Or you can store all but the ginger and add fresh when you make the chai.

• 25 cardamom pods
• 20 whole cloves
• 15 black peppercorns
• 2 sticks cinnamon
• 5 allspice berries
• 2 Tbsp. dried ginger* or add fresh ginger at time of brewing tea

*To dry ginger, preheat oven to 300 degrees. Peel and coarsely chop as much ginger as you need. It keeps well so you may want to do more than you actually need for this recipe. Spread on a cookie sheet and place in oven for 15-20 minutes. Keep an eye on it and turn it a time or two so it doesn't burn.

Making the chai:

To make a batch with the entire concentrate above, the traditional method is to simmer the spices, sweetener, and tea in the milk for at least 30 minutes. Alternately, you can simmer the spices and sweetener in the milk for 30 minutes and steep the tea in the chai for about 3 minutes once it is taken off the heat. Another option is to simmer the spices and sweetener in 4 cups water for 30 minutes, steep the tea in the finished chai and add a small amount of milk or milk substitute to taste. Whether you use milk or water, the brewed chai will keep in the refrigerator for a few days. Just add the tea when you reheat it.

• 4 cups milk
• 1 teaspoon sweetener of your choice (optional)
• 4 teaspoons black tea

Ingredients for chai spice for cooking:

• 2 Tbsp ground cardamom seed (not the whole pod)
• 2 Tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1.5 Tbsp ground cloves
• 1.5 Tbsp ground ginger
• 1 Tbsp ground allspice

Sprinkle a little of this blend on oatmeal as you would cinnamon. Experiment with baked goods that usually have one or more of the ingredients in this blend or a recipe that you like but think is a little bland. It is especially good in pumpkin pie with an added 1/8-1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper. It just gives the pie a little spicy surprise!

Enjoy!