Turmeric tea (haldi chai)
Preparation Time
1 minutes
Cooking Time
10 minutes
Difficulty Level
easy
Meal Type
Drinks
Serves 2
Key Ingredients
- Turmeric Powder
About This Recipe
Haldi chai, or turmeric tea, is a simple hot drink of the spice: turmeric powder simmered in water, with whatever the home has on hand stirred in at the end. This version keeps the base plain and finishes each cup with freshly ground black pepper, lemon juice and honey.
The turmeric goes into barely simmering water, not a rolling boil, so it disperses cleanly instead of clumping. Two minutes of simmering cooks out the raw edge of the powder, and the pan comes off the heat before the pepper goes in, which keeps the pepper's sharpness. A fine sieve gives a clear, bright cup; without one, stir before every sip because the turmeric settles.
A teaspoon of honey (7 g) brings 5.8 g of carbohydrate to the cup; a teaspoon of jaggery powder (5 g) works the same way at 4.2 g, and the tea is good unsweetened too. For more on the spice, see haldi, and read about the pairing in turmeric and black pepper.
Ingredient List
Serving Size:
1x
2x
3x
For the pot
- Water — 2 1/2 cups
- Turmeric Powder — 1/2 tsp
- Black pepper, freshly ground — 1/4 tsp
- Lemon juice — 1 tsp
- Honey — 2 tsp
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Serving Suggestions
Serve hot in a glass or mug, as it is or with a thin lemon slice. It sits well on a cold morning beside plain biscuits or rusk. The turmeric recipes roundup has the milk, water and laddu versions of the spice.
Tips for Cooking Turmeric tea (haldi chai)
Keep the water at a bare simmer when the turmeric goes in; a rolling boil throws up foam and the powder sticks to the rim of the pan. Simmer for two minutes only, and grind the pepper at the end so its heat stays sharp. Stir the pot before pouring, and sieve the tea while it is hot; it pours cleanest then.
Chef’s Note
The colour is the first sign: a bright, even golden water means the turmeric dispersed, while a murky one means it clumped and will settle fast. The numbers below come from the turmeric, black pepper and honey in the cup; the water and lemon juice are not counted.
Per serving (approx.): 24 kcal, protein 0.1 g, carbs 6.2 g, fat 0 g, fibre 0.3 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
May 04, 2026
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