Tag: drinks
Masala Chai (Tea)
Improve your morning cup of tea!
As you can imagine every Indian has their own idea and recipe for ‘masala chai’. The word ‘chai’ has become very popular with Starbucks introducing many different varieties of it. I have never enjoyed the coffee shop version of it, just never reminded me of the chai I grew up with. Now, like I said, there are as many versions of this as there are Indians.. (that’s a whole lot). This version has been tweaked over the years, thanks to my husband who is a self proclaimed tea connoisseur. I have combined fennel seeds and green cardamom. The key is to crush them either in a mortar and pestle or with anything heavy (a bottle of wine will do!). Of course fresh spices make a big difference! Also good quality loose black tea is important.. now I don’t want you to break the bank and buy very expensive tea. The dry spices in the tea will dominate the flavor so you don’t want something very delicate like a darjeeling tea. A reasonably priced Assam tea or even English Breakfast will do. The other key to a great cup of masala chai is cooking the milk and sugar with the water, spices and the loose tea in the same pan. I always have one percent milk at home, I use that with a splash of half and half (it gives it a richness that is very much needed!) The chai creates a very earthy, nostalgic aroma for me- great on a weekend morning.
- 1 cup filtered water
- 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
- 1 green cardamom, crushed
- 1 heaping teaspoon loose black tea
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon half and half
In a shallow pan add the water, crushed fennel seeds, cardamom and sugar. Heat on a high flame. Once the water comes to a boil, add the tea leaves. Then add the milk and the half and half. Let it come to another boil and lower the flame. Cook for a minute or two stirring it as needed and ensuring the sugar has dissolved. Pour into a cup through a small strainer.
Perfect Summer Drink Recipe: Red Sangria
When I think of summer, Sangria comes to mind- so when Memorial Day quickly came our way, it was time to make some! I have been thinking/talking about Sangria for a few weeks now. During a street fair in our town, a local wine store was having a Sangria tasting. A new product was being launched- I was quite skeptical about what was about to come out of the red wine like bottle. I tasted it and was pleasantly surprised! It was very good- the nice man told me about the mixed drink and how it only had red wine and fruit puree. I wanted to buy it thinking how easy it would be to open a bottle of sangria in a moments notice but of course the mixologist in our family- my husband wouldn’t hear of it! He wanted to make his own, even though he admitted the bottled one was pretty good. I had looked up several recipes including one with passion fruit puree- which jumped out at me immediately since passion fruit is my all time favorite fruit. I don’t get to eat it too often around here and when I do, it’s very expensive but it is SO worth every penny- if you have never tasted a real passion fruit you have to try it- it is kind of a mix between a mango, guava and a peach but a lot better and intense! Anyway, I suggested the recipes to my husband but he refused and wanted to do research himself and come up with his own concoction. We went out to the ironbound section of Newark for a fabulous Portuguese/Spanish meal on Saturday and had a great tasting sangria there- it was not very intense in alcohol but was delicious. It reminded me of the sangria we had in Barcelona- it was our first day there and we had just unpacked and settled into our apartment. To keep awake we decided to walk to the popular area of Las Rambla. After a while we sat down in the median at a cafe and indulged in the biggest glasses of sangria I had ever seen! It was the most delicious sangria I have ever had. While in the Newark restaurant, I asked the waiter for the ingredients and they were quite standard- wine, simple syrup and fruit- quite easy to replicate at home.
My husband’s concoction was extremely delicious- it was tangy and sweet and the alcohol was apparent as well. A very well balanced drink that went really well with salsa and guacamole and chorizo burgers- recipes to come in the next week or so. I predict a lot of sangria in our future this summer!