One-Saucepan Masala Chai with Crushed Whole Spices

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

Real masala chai built the way tea stalls do it: whole spices cracked open in a mortar, boiled hard in water to pull out their oils, then strong CTC black tea and whole milk brought to a rolling boil and simmered until the color turns deep caramel and the tea actually coats the cup. No powdered mixes, no tea bags dunked in warm milk — just one saucepan and about twelve minutes of controlled boiling.

Ingredients

• 4 green cardamom pods
• 1 inch cinnamon stick (preferably cassia), broken
• 2 whole cloves
• 4 black peppercorns
• 1/4 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 inch fresh ginger, unpeeled, smashed

• 1 cup water
• 2 tsp loose-leaf Assam CTC black tea
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 tsp granulated sugar, or to taste
• 1 pinch kosher salt (optional, sharpens the spices)

Instructions

1. Put the cardamom pods, broken cinnamon, cloves, peppercorns and fennel seeds in a mortar and crush with 8 to 10 firm presses of the pestle — you want the cardamom pods split and the cinnamon in splinters, not a powder. Powder makes the chai muddy and bitter. If you have no mortar, fold the spices into a kitchen towel and crack them with the flat of a heavy pan or a rolling pin. Smash the ginger separately until fibrous and juicy.
2. Combine the crushed spices, smashed ginger and 1 cup water in a small saucepan (2-quart is ideal). Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then let it boil actively for 4 minutes, uncovered. The water should turn pale gold and smell strongly of cardamom and ginger — this step, not the milk, is where the masala flavor comes from.
3. Add the 2 teaspoons of CTC tea. Boil hard for 2 minutes, stirring once or twice; the liquid will go opaque brick-red and reduce slightly. Do not lower the heat — CTC granules need a real boil to release color and tannin.
4. Pour in 1 cup whole milk along with the sugar and the optional pinch of salt. Raise the heat and bring the pan to a full rolling boil, watching closely — it will climb the sides fast. When it threatens to boil over, pull the pan a few inches off the burner for 5 seconds, then set it back on. Repeat this rise-and-pull 3 times; it aerates the chai and builds body.
5. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, at a lively bubble rather than a bare quiver, for 4 to 5 minutes. Judge it by color and texture, not the clock: finished chai is the shade of milky caramel or wet sand, and a spoon lifted out should be lightly coated. If it still looks like pale coffee-with-milk, give it another 2 minutes.
6. Optional but worth it: ladle the chai from about 10 inches up back into the pan 4 or 5 times, or pour it back and forth between two heatproof mugs. This 'pulling' cools it slightly, thickens the mouthfeel and puts a fine foam on top.
7. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into two warmed cups, pressing the spices and tea leaves with the back of a spoon to squeeze out the last concentrated drops. Taste and stir in more sugar if needed — chai should be hot enough that you sip it, and it will taste less sweet at that temperature. Serve immediately.

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Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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