Masala chai
Preparation Time
3 minutes
Cooking Time
12 minutes
Difficulty Level
easy
Meal Type
Drinks
Serves 2
Key Ingredients
- Black CTC tea leaves (chai patti)
About This Recipe
Masala chai is the spiced cousin of plain chai patti tea: the same Assam CTC leaves and milk, with whole spices boiled into the water first.
The masala ratio is the heart of this recipe. For two cups: four green cardamom pods, one inch of cinnamon, four cloves, four black peppercorns and one inch of fresh ginger. The cardamom carries the sweet top note, the cinnamon and cloves a warm depth, the pepper a small prickle of heat, and the ginger keeps the brew fresh.
The spices go into cold water so they release slowly as the pot heats; the tea joins after three minutes and the milk last. Out of cardamom? Drop the pods and add one extra clove and half an inch more ginger, and the cup keeps its warmth without the sweet note. For the plain cup, the chai patti recipe brews the same leaves without the masala.
Ingredient List
Serving Size:
1x
2x
3x
Masala
- Fresh ginger, crushed — 1 inch
- Green cardamom pods, lightly crushed — 4 pieces
- Cinnamon stick, 1 inch — 1 piece
- Cloves — 4 pieces
- Black peppercorns, lightly crushed — 4 pieces
Tea
- Water — 1 1/2 cups
- Black CTC tea leaves (chai patti) — 2 tsp
- Full-fat milk — 1 cup
To sweeten
- White sugar, 2 tsp a cup — 4 tsp
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Serving Suggestions
Serve hot, poured through the strainer into glasses, with khari, nimki or glucose biscuits to dip. On a cool evening it stands beside samosas or pakoras, and it carries well in a flask. The loose leaf tea recipes roundup gathers the other ways to brew these leaves.
Tips for Cooking Masala chai
Crack the pods and cloves once, never to powder; whole pieces strain out cleanly and a fine powder turns the cup muddy. Keep the milk at a gentle rise, and strain the moment the second rise settles. If the chai tastes thin, simmer one minute more instead of adding leaves.
Chef’s Note
Four pods, one stick, four cloves and four peppercorns keep the tea forward and the masala behind it, the balance a good masala chai aims for. A cup comes to about 39 kcal and 10.0 g of carbohydrate, all of it from the sugar; the milk adds more on top.
Per serving (approx.): 39 kcal, protein 0 g, carbs 10 g, fat 0 g, fibre 0 g. Computed from IFCT 2017 / USDA values for the listed quantities. Measures: 1 cup = 240 ml, 1 tbsp = 15 ml, 1 tsp = 5 ml.
Happy Cooking
!!
ByCOWBERRY
Sep 12, 2026
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