on Oct 30th, 2007Mocha chai mix
It wasn’t too many years ago that Americans who knew the word “chai” at all — in the beverage sense, not as the Hebrew word for “life” — simply thought of it as the word for “tea” in several other languages. Now it’s a popular category of spiced tea, properly called “masala chai.”
It’s so popular that supermarket brands of chai mixes are competing for shelf space, but as with so many convenience foods, those mixes contain corn syrup solids and other ingredients that make me question whether I’m getting any of tea’s antioxidant benefits. And they’re expensive. No surprise there.
Enter my friend Sandi, whose blog, Always a Work in Progress, is in the Blogroll. Last summer she posted this recipe for a chocolate chai mix and I couldn’t wait for cool weather to try it. I’m wearing a sweater now and sipping the chai and loving every delicious drop.
You can adjust the spices if you wish, perhaps adding a bit of cardomom, which is typical of chai, and this is a perfect candidate for vanilla sugar, to use up a bean whose seeds were needed for another recipe. And if your only experience of chai is that frothy sugar water dispensed from machines at convenience stores, know that the tea is the star here.
Thanks, Sandi!
Mocha Chai Mix
2/3 cup dry milk
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 3/4 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
2 tsp vanilla extract powder - optional
Mix all ingredients and store in an airtight container.
To use, brew orange pekoe tea and add one heaping teaspoon per cup. Stir about one minute and serve.
Ella’s notes: Having had this now about six times, here’s what I do. I use a tablespoon for a mug (10 -12 ounces) and, if using a tea bag, I add the mix to the mug with the teabag then add the water and let the tea and mix steep and melt at the same time. I did add about one teaspoon of cardamom to the container of mix.
Royal icing & decorating
AW! I LOVE chai~OH so GOOD! Hey~do you know anything about masala? Is that part of garam masala? (For some reason I thought it was marsala, so it could be two different things…) I love the latter on tofu….
(((((HUGS))))) sandi
Hi, sandi…thanks again for the great recipe!
“Masala” just refers to a blend of spices:
http://foodpluspolitics.com/2007/08/28/chicken-tikka-masala/
Yep, it’s like the word in garam masala. Marsala’s a sweet Italian wine - used sometimes with chicken. Mmmmm!
{{{{{Hugs}}}}}
Sounds so delicious! I love spices, with or without tea, brewed with water or seeped in hot milk with (lots of) sugar. The cocoa makes it very special.
It’s a good blend and vanilla sugar would only enhance it. (And I’ve never met any form of chocolate I didn’t like….)
hey!
i know chai very well indeed. only where i live (bangladesh) we call it chaa and we don’t use masala. tea from bangladesh is quite good and is exported like, allover the world. i was just wondering, do you have it in supermarkets in america? or was it knocked down completely by masala tea?
i am a BIIIIG fan of masala, but i’m afraid i don’t like masala chai at all! i tried it in india once quite accidentally and it felt like i was consuming curry.
for the record, i do love masala tea IF no milk is included - for example, ginger tea can be quite good for a cold.
but i am gonna try your recipe either minus the milk or minus the masala. like, omg, cocoa and vanilla? you got me!
btw, when are you gonna stop blogging?
just kidding, i only meant to say when are you gonna stop blogging without offering us the actual dishes and drinks.
hehehehehe!
I’m a Chai fan. How did you know?
Thanks for this great recipe sharing. I can’t wait to try it. And by the way, to my friends from Pakistan, masala refers to the raw ginger, garlic, tumeric and other spices, all ground together with a mortor and pestle, which is a kind of universal flavoring base to cook with. It certainly is delicious!
@ netty gritty and pbsweeney - two experts! Clarify for me, then. It’s my understanding that “masala” refers to any spice blend, not a particular one, ie garam masala which has “garam” as the modifier.
ng - I haven’t seen tea from Bangladesh but that doesn’t mean we don’t have it. I’ll look because now I’m curious.
pb - This is something to drink while I savor your poetry. (click on her name, poetry lovers)
@ tt - I think most people are fans. Chai has done for tea what lattes did for espresso. Enjoy it!
That’s right - masala just means a mix of spices. So you can have all sorts of masalas, each tailored for a specific dish or ingredient. BTW, garam means hot.
Thanks, VegeYum. That’s what I’ve been taught but then I had second thoughts. I didn’t know “garam” means hot but I’m not surprised; I love it and I’m very fond of heat!
@Netty Gritty Cocoa and vanilla? Yes! (The party’s tomrrow night.
)
vege yum said it all!
) - they are all garam masala. they are supposed to make you go ooh when you eat - cos they make the food hot.
garam is hot and masala is spice! i wouldn’t know what qualifies for garam masala! i do know that garam masala is mostly used in beef curries over here. garam masala and beef go hand-in-hand! cinnamon, clove, that long black fragrant slightly sweet thing (damn, i’m NO expert!
and i can see that you have the myfreecopyright button in your sidebar!
there’s nothing more fulfilling about blogging than knowing that my stuff is actually useful to my readers!
i forgot to say something, i think it is still a good idea to watermark your images. the way you are doing it is good!
so, are you gonna put the button under each post or only in the sidebar? i have decided to put the button in the sidebar, but i will put text links for the digital fingerpring thing for specific blog posts - cos i think each post should have the corresponding link, but um, i don’t like the button so much to be under each post!
btw, don’t forget to copyright your feed, too!
Oh, coyrighting the feed was the first thing I did and there’s no way I’ll stop watermarking. But please see the first comment in Pomegranates - I’ve been splogged again and I’m so fed up with this particular thief I’m going public with it. Thanks again for your great info. (I’m not going to put it in every post. That won’t stop a determined thief.)
I could eat curries almost every day. I used to have a neighbor from Pakistan (who never stopped giggling about our canned curry powder) and she loved giving me food because I never thought it was too hot or spicy. I think I single-handedly restored her faith in the American palate.
Hi ella, Have a look here for some more information on Garam Masala, and how to make your own! It is quite easy, really, and far superior to anything you could buy. Mmmm. Love spices. Love spicy.
Ooh, thanks for the link. I’ve popped you into the blogroll for easy (and frequent!) reference.
I have nearly all the ingredients for your variations on hand except for nigella seeds and black marjoram. For the ones that don’t give amounts, is there a standard proportion or to taste or…?
I’ll meet you there!
Hay ella, nigella and black cardamom are not as common outside India as some other spices. Just leave them out. I love black cardamom. Very smoky in taste.
Proportions are really up to your taste, but I posted a suggested mix for you on the garam masala post. Let me know how it goes….
Great, thanks. There’s an Asian import store not too far away and I’m almost sure I’ve seen nigella there. I only have one recipe that uses nigella (ironically, by Lawson) so I’ll see how much it costs.
On my way to your blog!