Masala Chai

Whole spices and black tea boiled in water, then boiled again with milk and strained into a mug.

01 Scale

people ×1

Start to eat—

Actually you—

Pans2

Bowls3

Ingredients

For 1

¾clove, with the top removedलवंग · लौंग

½ inchfresh ginger, sliced or crushedआले · अदरक

1green cardamom pod, smashed slightlyवेलची · इलायची

½ inchcinnamon stickदालचिनी · दालचीनी

1black peppercorn

around 1/8 teaspoonnutmeg, a light sprinkle

½ mugwaterपाणी · पानी

2 ¼ teaspoonsblack tea leaves (strong Assam or CTC-style preferred)

~2 teaspoonssugar (optional, or adjust to taste)साखर · चीनी

½ mugmilkदूध · दूध

Pots & pans

Sized for 1

1small saucepan

1strainer

Mise en place

All of this before the heat goes on

1The spices

¾clove, with the top removedलवंग · लौंग

½ inchfresh ginger, sliced or crushedआले · अदरक

1green cardamom pod, smashed slightlyवेलची · इलायची

½ inchcinnamon stickदालचिनी · दालचीनी

1black peppercorn

around 1/8 teaspoonnutmeg, a light sprinkle

2The brew

½ mugwaterपाणी · पानी

2 ¼ teaspoonsblack tea leaves (strong Assam or CTC-style preferred)

~2 teaspoonssugar (optional, or adjust to taste)साखर · चीनी

3To finish

½ mugmilkदूध · दूध

The order

In order

01PrepIn a small saucepan, put the water, all the spices and the tea leaves together.

02HeatBring it to a boil and let everything simmer together so the tea and the spices fully infuse.

03HeatOnce it is boiling, add the sugar if you are using it and stir until it dissolves.

04HeatAdd the milk, stir, and let it come to a full boil again. Let it rise once, then lower the heat and simmer briefly.

05FinishStrain into a mug and drink it hot.

Other people’s versions

Links only — nothing copied

Masterclass In ChaiFood with Chetnaa long-form take on the same drink

Notes

The source gives no numeric timings at all — only "a few minutes" for the spice boil and "briefly" for the simmer after the milk goes in. So this page shows none, and the total time is left blank rather than guessed.

The quantities are suspicious as a record of how she actually makes it. "¾ clove, with the top removed" and "2¼ teaspoons" are not things a person measures; they read like a machine-scaled version of a larger batch. The odd numbers are kept verbatim because that is what the source says, but they should be checked with her and replaced with what she actually does.

"Mug" is not a standard measure, so the water and the milk will not convert to anything. They are kept as written.

No story. No ads. Adapted from Chhaya Karnik · Changed: reformatted and re-measured by an LLM; the fractional quantities are not hers