Learn how to make an Authentic Indian Masala Chai (or Tea) recipe with black tea leaves (or tea bags), milk, ginger, and a blend of aromatic spices. Serve with Parle-G biscuits or cake rusk for dipping.
In most Indian homes, mornings are incomplete without hot beverages like chai or coffee. It is consumed along with Indian breakfast or evening snacks. This beverage is now popular worldwide, similar to mango lassi, and served in most Indian Restaurants in the USA.
I am a huge Chai lover, and I cannot kick-start my day without sipping a hot cup of chai made by my husband. He makes the World's BEST masala chai and adrak wali chai (ginger tea).
Every Indian family has their own unique blend of spices they prefer in masala chai. It's never the same across households.
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What is Masala Chai?
Masala chai (or Spiced Chai), also known as Chaa in some regions, is a popular Indian hot beverage made by brewing black tea leaves with water, milk, and a blend of aromatic spices.
In India, Masala means "spice", and chai means "tea". Therefore, masala chai means tea infused with spices.
Here in the States, it is often known as "chai tea" or "chai tea latte". Most popular coffee chains, Starbucks or Peets in the USA, have chai latte on their menu, but it doesn't taste like authentic Indian masala tea with milk.
You can make masala tea by either crushing whole spices in a mortar and pestle, or by using pre-made chai masala powder.
If you drink tea regularly, then you can prepare a small batch of chai masala powder at home and store it in an airtight container. It is so much easier and more convenient to make the chai. You can add ¼-1/2 teaspoon of chai masala for every cup of tea you make, depending on your preference.
Other popular tea types include ginger tea (adrak ka chai), mint tea (pudina chai), lemongrass tea, and holy basil tea (tulsi tea).
It is generally prepared with dairy milk. Use plant-based milk like soy milk, almond milk, or oats milk to make vegan masala tea.
If you want to know more about spices, check out our detailed guide on Indian spices and herbs.
What Are the Health Benefits of Masala Tea?
Masala Chai has many health benefits, provided you drink it in moderation.
- Reduces Inflammation
- Boosts Immunity
- Aids Digestion
- Contains Antioxidants
- Increases Your Energy Levels - Source golden tips tea
Homemade Masala Chai Ingredients
- Black Tea: Use the Indian brand's loose black tea leaves, which are often made with Darjeeling or Assam tea leaves using the CTC method. I recommend Red Label, Tata Tea Gold, and Wagh Bakri brands for loose black tea leaves and Tetley British Blend for tea bags. You can easily find them in any Indian grocery store or on Amazon.
- Milk: The best milk for chai is dairy milk (full-fat whole milk preferable). Skimmed milk also works fine. You can also use oat milk, almond milk, or soy milk as a plant-based milk substitute.
- Whole Spices for Chai Masala: I used cloves, cardamom, ceylon cinnamon, and peppercorns. You can also add fennel seeds, star anise, saffron, and dried lemon grass. Make sure to use spices in very small quantities to prevent them from overpowering the chai.
- Ginger: Use fresh ginger for the best flavor. If you want a stronger ginger taste, grate or crush it using a mortar and pestle. If mild flavor, then add thinly sliced pieces of ginger. I use organic ginger, so I did not remove the peel.
- Sweetener: This is optional. Typically granulated white sugar is used. However, you can use sweeteners like brown sugar, coconut sugar, jaggery, stevia, honey, or even maple syrup. If using honey, maple syrup, or jaggery, stir it only when the chai is off the heat but still hot.
How to Make Indian Masala Chai at Home
Crush The Spices (Masala)
Add ½ inch cinnamon stick, 2-3 green cardamom pods, 2 cloves, and 5 black peppercorns to a mortar pestle, and gently pound the spices. This helps to release the flavors.
Boil the Water with Spices
Bring 1 cup water to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat and add crushed spices (or homemade chai masala powder).
Grate a ½-inch piece of ginger directly into the pot of water. Boil for 2-3 minutes until the water turns a mild yellowish color. This helps extract all the flavors from the ginger and spices.
Add Tea Leaves and Sugar
Then, add 2-3 teaspoons of loose black tea leaves (or tea bags) and 2 teaspoons sugar (optional) to the water.
Let the tea continue to boil for another 1-2 minutes till it is a really dark red hue, but ensure not to over-boil; otherwise, the tea will be bitter.
Add Milk and Boil the Chai
Add 1 cup whole milk, and bring the tea to a rolling boil, and then simmer on lower heat for another 5 minutes till the tea turns dark. Simmering helps the tea to thicken and develop flavor.
Again, raise the heat to high and bring it to a rolling boil. When the chai is done, there is a layer of milk cream on the top. Turn off the stove at this stage.
Note: You can simmer it for longer until it reaches the desired consistency and color you prefer in your tea.
Strain and Serve
Pour the tea through a tea strainer (fine mesh sieve) directly into cups or teapots. Drink hot!
How to Serve Masala Tea?
Serve Masala chai hot with Parle-G biscuits (cookie) or cake rusk for dipping in the morning.
It also goes great with any Indian snacks like samosa, onion pakoda, poha chivda, masala bread toast, or cookies for your evening tea.
Expert Tips
- Fresh ginger: Fresh ginger contains an enzyme called zingipain, which can cause the milk to curdle by breaking down its proteins. To avoid this, always boil the water with the spices and ginger first before adding the milk.
- Tea Bags: If you are using tea bags to make masala chai, I highly recommend adding an extra tea bag as they don't have much flavor compared to loose black tea.
- Simmer: Simmer the tea for a few extra minutes after adding milk if your chai has not reached the desired consistency and color you prefer. You can also add some extra tea powder or a bag if it's not strong enough.
- Whole spices: You can add whole spices into the tea as-is for ease and boil to the light flavor of the spices. For a slightly stronger flavor, roughly crush the spices using a mortar & pestle. For an even sharper, stronger flavor, grind them in a spice grinder to make a chai masala powder.
- Milk: Feel free to increase or decrease the quantity of the milk as per your liking.
- Scaling: You can double or triple the recipe.
Variations
You can prepare masala tea with fresh mint leaves, holy basil (tulsi), or dried rose petals for a variation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Masala Chai is made of black tea leaves, chai masala spices, milk, and the sweetener of your choice.
Yes, Black tea contains Polyphenols (antioxidants), helps to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes helps to fight free radicals and has many more health benefits. Chai Masala spices like cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and black pepper have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, aid in digestion, and boost immunity.
Use plant-based milk like unsweetened almond milk, oat milk, cashew milk, or soy milk for a vegan version.
You can prepare the tea decoction with spices (leaving out the milk and sugar) and store it in the fridge for one day. When you want to serve tea, simply boil it with milk, sugar and serve it.
It is best to drink Chai when made fresh. If you have leftover chai sitting outside within an hour of making it, then reheat it in a microwave or stovetop pot until warm and drink it. Otherwise, discard it as it may harbor mold and bacterial growth.
It's best to enjoy chai in the morning, as it kick-starts your metabolism and boosts your energy levels. However, since chai contains small amounts of caffeine, it's advisable to avoid drinking it at night, as it may interfere with your sleep.
Indian Masala Chai Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup milk
- 2-3 teaspoons loose leaf black tea (or 2 tea bags)
- ½ inch ginger freshly grated
- 2 teaspoons sugar adjust to taste
Chai Masala Spices (can be substitute with ½ teaspoon of homemade chai masala)
- ½ inch cinnamon
- 2-3 cardamom
- 2 cloves
- 5 black peppercorns
Instructions
Crush The Spices (Masala)
- Add cinnamon, green cardamom pods, cloves, and black peppercorns to a mortar pestle, and gently pound the spices. This helps to release the flavors.
Boil the Water with Spices and Ginger
- Bring water to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat and add crushed spices (or homemade chai masala powder).
- Grate ½ inch piece of ginger directly into the pot of water. Boil for 2-3 minutes, or till the water color changes to mild yellowish color. This way, you will get all of the flavors from the ginger and spices.
Add Tea Leaves and Sugar
- Then add the loose black tea leaves (or tea bags) and sugar (optional) to the water.
- Let the tea continue to boil for another 1-2 minutes till it is really dark red hue, but ensure not to over-boil otherwise, the tea will be bitter.
Add Milk and Boil the Chai
- Add the milk and bring the tea to a rolling boil, and then simmer on lower heat for another 5 minutes till the tea turns dark. Simmering helps the tea to thicken and develop flavor.
- Again raise the heat to high and bring it to come to a rolling boil. When the chai is done, there is a layer of milk cream on the top. Turn off the stove at this stage.Note: You can simmer it for longer until it reaches the desired consistency and color you prefer in your tea.
Strain and Serve
- Pour the tea through a tea strainer (fine mesh sieve) directly into cups or tea pots.
- Drink hot!
Notes
Tips to Make the Best Masala Chai
- Fresh ginger: Fresh ginger contains an enzyme, called zingipain. It can break down the protein in the milk and leads to curdling of milk. So always boil the water with the spices, and ginger, first before adding the milk.
- Tea Bags: If you are using tea bags to make masala chai, I highly recommend adding an extra tea bag as they don't have much flavor compared to loose black tea.
- Simmer: Simmer the tea for a few extra minutes after adding milk if your chai has not reached the desired consistency and color you prefer. You can also add some extra tea powder or bag if its not strong enough.
- Milk: Feel free to increase or decrease the quantity of the milk as per your liking.
- Whole spices: You can add whole spices in to the tea as-is for ease and boil to light flavor of the spices. For a slightly stronger flavor, roughly crush the spices using a mortar & pestle. For even sharper, stronger flavor, grind them in a spice grinder to make a chai masala powder.
- Scaling: You can double or triple the recipe.
Nutrition
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nancy liljequist
I love your chai recipe.
I look forward to it every morning!
Do you have a recipe for turning the spices
into a powder and then using that added to
the milk and water and then heating??
I have heard you can grind the spices in an
electric grinding and then put in airtight jar
and use for a number of days. How is this done?
Thank you so much!! I love your recipe!!
Bhavana Patil
Thank you so much Nancy, I am glad you liked the recipe.Its called chai masala.. Here is the recipe for it https://www.indianveggiedelight.com/chai-masala-powder/
However if you can't find all the spices, you can use green cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, pepper in a large quantity blend it in a electric grinder and mix with some dry ginger powder and store in an airtight container.