Cooking tips, tricks, and advice from professional kitchens
Posts tagged cloves
How to Make Chai Tea
Feb 28th
Making Chai Tea
Tired of that cup of Folgers every morning? Want a little change from Starbucks? Well, next time you want a little pick-me-up, try brewing a cup (or 4, in our recipe) of chai tea.
What is Chai Tea?
For those unfamiliar with chai, it is black tea infused with aromatic spices, finished with milk and sugar. Virtually any blend of ‘sweet’ and ‘warming’ spices are a good match for chai tea. Sweet spices are those that pair well, or are enhanced by sweetness: Nutmeg, allspice, vanilla, fennel seed, star anise, cassia and cinnamon to name a few. Warming spices include peppercorns and ginger, as well as cinnamon.
There are brands of sweetened chai syrup on the market, as well as prepackaged chai flavoured teabags, but they can’t compete with the intoxicating aroma and deep flavours of real chai tea. Making the real thing is about as difficult as boiling a pot of water – you just need a few things on hand.
As with many Indian dishes, there are limitless regional differences with chai tea. Some recipes omit ginger or cloves, some add other spices, and I’ve even heard of chilies being added. Preparation methods differ as well, so remember, there is no truly ‘right way’ to make chai tea.
How do I make Chai Tea?
Ingredients for 1 Litre of Chai Tea
3 Tbsp Black tea – Use a good quality black tea. Something you would drink on its own. If you don’t have any on hand, 4 or 5 Tetley tea bags will do. I normally drink Red Rose tea, but for some reason Tetley seems to make nicer, less tannic masala chai.
Spices -
- 3 inches cinnamon stick
- 10 green cardamom pods
- 1/2 inch ginger, sliced thin
- 10 whole cloves
- 10 black peppercorns
- Place 2 1/2 cups of water, and all of the spices in a pot, and bring to a boil.
- Once boiled, cover your pot, and turn to low heat, or turn it off. Let the spices steep for 10 minutes.
- Add 1 1/2 cups milk, 2-4 Tbsp sugar, brown sugar, or honey and bring back to a boil.
- Once boiled, turn heat to low.
- Add tea leaves and steep on low heat for 10-15 minutes.
- Strain and serve.
Chai Tea - Ready to Strain
Some additional spices you may want to try adding to your chai:
- Star anise
- Dried orange peel
- Vanilla bean (or just the saved pods, after you scrape the seeds)
- Nutmeg
Fresh, home made chili powder
Jan 19th
Chili powder, commonly found in the grocery store, often isn’t simply powdered chilies. This Tex-Mex seasoning is a blend of dried ground chilies, garlic powder, onion powder, powdered cumin and coriander seed, oregano, allspice, and salt. As with most spice blends there are countless variations on chili powder.
I am guilty of buying this premade, but only because I go through so much of it. In a pinch, chili powder can be easily made at home, and it will be more aromatic and flavorful than the blends on grocery store shelves. If you can get your hands on powdered chilies, you can make a wonderful, smoky and rich spice mix. If not, simply use cayenne and paprika.
Recipe for home made chili powder. Yield about 1 cup (250ml):
| 4 tbsp / 60ml | Ancho chili powder |
| 2 tbsp / 30ml | Chipotle chili powder |
| 2 tbsp / 30ml | Paprika |
| 2 tbsp / 30ml | Ground cumin seed |
| 2 tbsp / 30ml | Onion powder |
| 2 tsp / 10ml | Ground coriander seed |
| 1 tbsp / 15ml | Mexican oregano |
| 1 tbsp / 15ml | Garlic powder |
| 1 tsp / 5ml | Ground allspice |
| 1/2 tsp / 2.5ml | Ground cloves |
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Chinese Five Spice
Mar 24th
Five spice is Chinese and Vietnamese spice blend containing somewhere between 5 and 7 spices. It is commonly used on roast or braised meats with braised pork belly, beef brisket, or roast duck being a few classics. There are many recipes for this blend, but common ingredients are Sichuan pepercorns, cloves, cinnamon, anise seed, star anise, and ground ginger.
Five spice may be found in Chinese or Southeast Asian markets, but it is easy to make your own if you have a well stocked spice cupboard.
The five spice recipe I’ve been carting around for some time is:
- 30ml Sichuan peppercorns [black peppercorns may be substitued, but you'll lose the lemony flavour of the Sichuan pepper]
- 10ml fennel seed
- 10ml ground ginger
- 3 star anise pods
- 6 whole cloves
- 6 inches of cinnamon stick broken up
Yes, I know it has six spices.