Chai please!

                                                                     

 After a very successful ice fishing outing yesterday we all came home chilled to the bone. Once the wood stove was crackling and slowly warming up our frozen fingers and toes, it was time to decide what to drink to warm up the "insides." The options we had were coffee, hot chocolate and chai. Usually chai, for me, is just simply a cup of hot black tea and a splash of milk but today something special was brewing. 


I really enjoy all kinds of chai but a favorite of mine is Spiced Indian Chai. There are many different ways of making this chai but for the most part the ingredients are the same. The chai is a mixture of milk and water, tea, sweetener, and a variety of spices. 


I think one of the main reasons I love this chai is because of the variety of spices you can use to make it. I love the smell of cinnamon, cloves, star anise, cardamom, ginger.... there something very comforting about each different scent. 

The aroma of warm, spicy, sweet and woody spices filled the air, reminding me of freshly baked gingerbread cookies, this is aroma therapy at it's finest. Another great thing is that all of these different spices are very medicinal so you can enjoy a cup or two without any guilt. So while the wood stove slowly warmed the kitchen I made Spiced Indian Chai that warmed our bodies and our soul. This is my recipe for Spiced Indian Chai, perfect anytime you need a little "warming" up!!

~ Spiced Indian Chai ~

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups water

4 black tea bags 

5 cardamom pods

4 whole star anise

2 cinnamon sticks

6 cloves

4 slices of fresh ginger

1 1/2 tablespoons honey

1 1/2 cups milk

Makes 4 cups Spiced Indian Chai

*I use Tetley Chai Tea bags and crush cardamom pods lightly to expose the seeds inside which releases the flavour. Also I measure the water in the cup I use to drink the chai from, that way I get the exact amount for my drinking cup size. * 

In a saucepan, bring the water, tea bags, cardamon pods, star anise, cinnamon sticks, cloves and fresh ginger to a boil.

Let the mixture boil for 2-3 minutes until the tea is black. 

Remove tea bags and let mixture simmer on low for 3 minutes.

Add honey and stir to combine. 

Then add milk, turn up the heat to medium -high and warm spiced chai to desired temperature. 

There is always time for a cup of Spiced Indian Chai. This chai is almost dessert like, it's sweet, spicy and filling. Don't get me wrong if you have room for a piece of cake or a cookie, I think either would pair will with this chai!!

~ Enjoy! ~ 

Here's the rest of the story, so the other day I made these very adorable teacup sugar cookies. I was going to have one with my cup of chai but the chai itself was enough so I'm gonna share the pictures with you instead. If you want to try making some delicious sugar cookies, click here for my favorite sugar cookie recipe.

Orange, you glad you stopped by today, I am glad you did!

I shared these cookies with Tea Part Tuesday :

Have a great weekend!!

Love Katya