Creamy Iced Masala Chai, with Almond Milk
Moments of proffered praise ebb and flow in a career. When they validate a dream, a new or second career, or a vision that you’ve been naively following, these moments bring a reality with it. The thought that I am really doing the right thing. I am following my heart, my passion.
Two events happened in the last few days. First, I taught a small private class again this week. The feelings and love it evoked from my students brought my passion to life, as do many of my classes. I received praise on social media for my efforts. I received lauds from the students the night of the class. The praise is not what I’m going after. It’s the feeling that comes after the praise. The sense that I am making a difference. The students’ vocalization of what was passed on to them. I’ve brought enjoyment to one’s life, for a little small part of their life, one evening. I’ve taught a part of my culture, my history, my background, to the people in this country that are hungry to know it and to learn it.
The second thing that I did was watch the food film “Jiro Dreams of Sushi”, a film about the 85 year old esteemed Michelin-rated Japanese sushi chef, who cooks with immense passion, fervently adhering to a principle of always striving for better, even after decades of experience.
I couldn’t help but think of myself and my passion while watching the movie. I am ALWAYS feeling like the recipe is just not “good enough”. It’s hardly ever perfect, for me. I want to work at my craft. I want to always make it better. The film reminded me that it’s OK to want to be that way. No one expects me to be perfect already.
And so because of these emotions that have surfaced, I want to thank you for reading. I thank you for taking time to learn, if you are a former “student”. I thank you for allowing me to perfect my task, continue working at my passion, and giving me the flexibility to do so.
I give you here a little recipe, one that the students last week asked me to write down. I also have an authentic chai recipe, one with freshly ground chai masala, but this one is a quick and easy shortcut chai– one that was prepared by the hostess of the class. She followed my original recipe with some of my recommended substitutions, and the recipe is written exactly as it was prepared. Enjoy this cool, refreshing beverage in this warm spring we are having!
Iced Masala Chai
Ingredients
- 4 cups water
- 4 tablespoons sugar plus more to taste
- 4 Irish Breakfast tea bags
- 1 teaspoon store-bought chai masala we used the Nirav brand, one of the few that only has spices listed in its ingredients
- 2 cups cold unsweetened plain almond milk
- cinnamon sticks optional
Instructions
- Begin heating the water in a small saucepan. When almost boiling, add the sugar and chai masala. Stir well to dissolve.
- Add the teabags, and reduce heat to low to steep the tea and simmer the spices, for about 8-10 minutes.
- Remove from heat and remove the tea bags. Stir the tea in the pot to blend well.
- Pour the masala chai over ice in 4 tall glasses to about 2/3 full.
- Stir in ½ cup milk into each glass.
- Accent with a 2-3 inch cinnamon stick, if desired.
- Serve with additional sugar on the side for those that like it truly Indian sweet!
Notes
© Shefaly Ravula/ Shef’s Kitchen
Heard of your blog from a friend….love it! This recipe reminds me of thai tea….but an indian version 🙂 by the time I get around to drinking my chai it ends up cold anyway….def gonna try this! Thanks
Yes you’re right about the analogy to Thai tea which I love as well! Thanks so much for visiting. I intend on posting much more often this year so I hope you continue to enjoy!
delicious! and what a great chef/teacher you are, had such a great time in your class!
Sarah, you are so sweet. It was an absolute pleasure to have you in my class; I’m so glad you had fun!!
Thanks for sharing the recipe, Shef! As a Chai connoisseur myself, I was intrigued to find that you were using almond milk. I have never thought of that, but I can imagine it would be quite tasty in this delectable beverage. Keep up the good work!
Thanks David, for visiting my blog; I’m happy to meet a chai connoisseur and welcome your visit! So, I mentioned in a reply above, but I love almond milk as an equal substitute for cows milk, as opposed to all the other milks which are too flavored. Soy chai..I just cannot do. Coconut? I don’t think so! But the almond milk allows the spices to shine, and over ice it was delicious! Would love to know your thoughts after you try it!
Excited to try this. like the use of almond milk here. Vegan? very very nice heartfelt post. …and you used the word ebb. i dont know anyone who has exercised that word in my lifetime. 🙂
Yes it is vegan, and I suppose I should “tag” it! I suggested almond milk because our family loves it as a real substitute for milk, as opposed to nutty-tasting soy milk, or rice and coconut milk which I think have too much flavor.
I used to know a fellow from Bangladesh, he prepared a vey sweet chai tea like this for us. I liked it and sought a box of chai to make it at home but it didn’t taste the same. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Sure thing! Let me know how you like it! Chai, as you may know, should be pretty sweet, which many Westerners may not like. But of course, you can make it as sweet as you like or even unsweetened! The hostess of this cooking party asked to have it fit into the theme of “Light/Healthy Indian”, and so she used Stevia in her iced chai!
Stevia would work, or agave nectar… mmm! I tend to like my black tea sweet, so the chai will be too. Thanks for the tip 😛