Garam Chai: A Warm Cup of Indian Tea

The one thing I miss the most since I moved out of home – is a cup of good Indian chai. Note the word ‘good’ – it isn’t that we have stopped making tea Indian style since we left the country, but that perfect cup still eludes me, and perhaps, it eludes many like me. Every effort to make the chai here is rewarded with a satisfying cup, but still it’s not exactly like the one at home!

Every morning, fighting the desire to roll to the other side of the bed, huddling under the quilt, we long for a warm cup of home chai. Shivering at the snowy, foggy sight through the window, we wish we were at home. Waiting and freezing at the bus stop, countless times we have imagined a local ‘chaiwala’ nearby, pouring the steaming liquid into long glasses. No, I don’t feel ashamed to talk about my genuine weakness to a whole world of people – known and unknown. And after looking at these pictures on the AFAR page, there was no stopping anyway.   

Back at home, a cup of chai was as much a necessity as it was a pang of romanticism. Ever came across one of those commercials that portray some inexplicably important components of life? This cup of Indian tea – full bodied with milk and a refreshing aroma of ginger, sometimes cardamom, will definitely fit the bill – for those raised in that misty, dusty, rusty setting of the Indian (subcontinent) soil.


Home. Chai. A refreshing morning. Inky newspapers. A nice start to a day.


Home. Another retiring day. Targets achieved. Responsibilities taken care of.. Chai. Relax. A cool bath. Pyjamas. Refreshed.


Home (town). A hazed afternoon. Pollution. Smoke. Sweat. Waiting for someone. Hey there! A clay cup of chai.. words.. words..


Home. Midnight. School project. Mom’s entry like Florence nightingale. A cuppa chai instead of the proverbial lamp. Submission due late in the morning.

If you have read till now and thinking the ‘chai’ has a lot to do with ‘home’ to remain ‘elusive’, I don’t quite disagree.

When I moved out of my parents’ for work in a different city, I missed home tea. My accommodation didn’t have a kitchen and chai is simply cannot be done without. So I found a ‘chaiwala’ in the locality – there’s often quite a few to choose from; the criteria defined by cleanliness, popularity, quality, and of course the ‘taste’. When we migrated to Trondheim, we started missing the ‘chaiwala,’ and the home-chai even more. I still think, my mother, and with her guidance, my sisters ‘cook’ the best Indian chai ever.


When it comes to ‘cook’ chai – or boil chai – okay, to make chai – this genre is entirely different from what you get at the vending machines or anywhere outside ‘home in India’, I suppose. This is not the tea with milk that the British drink. It is certainly not the milk-less or lime induced tea the Americans drink. Indian chai, a brand that some tea companies vaguely tried to offer through marketing ‘Indian masala tea’ is tea leaves boiled in double the milk than is actually needed, a little water, heaped teaspoons of sugar with a dash of ginger and cardamom, and sometime bay leaves or the Indian basil, Tulsi.

This concoction is supposed to cure any negative feeling of depression, any feeling of frustration, exhaustion, and ailments like cough and cold and a little fever. Well, I think I said ‘feelings of’.

The one that I regularly had at home was a sophisticated version (better quality tealeaves and lesser milk) and without the spices unless we had a cold and seriously needed boosting. Chai at Indian homes would definitely taste different than the road side shops and those in the country side and villages would be hard to label as ‘chai’ at all for the city people. All for the quality of the tea leaves and the amount or quality of the milk being used.

A thick, solid, less-acidic chai would come from any dust or powdered tea, and the best version can be achieved by using Assam tea. Tea leaves with strong flavour and a weak brew is not good for making this indigenous beverage. Try any strong brew. Anywhere in the ‘rest of the world’ a Lipton, Twinings, or Yellow Label teabags would sort of work.     

WARNING: This cup of tasty chai is not something that you will immediately like or fall in love with. It takes years of ‘experiencing’, familiarity, and culture-training. In the rare case, only a difficult or hardship situation in the sub-continent’s background can prepare you to like this taste. For example, when I offer ‘chai’ to my curious friends here (I am not that pushy, it’s they who want the experience), they make a face at the first sip and henceforth politely ignore the cups. Then they visit India (for some reason). On their return, they start longing for the chai and sceptically ask me if I can teach them how to make it. Do not fail to let me know your opinion after attempting this though.

A Hot Cup of Spicy, Indian Chai

~~ yields 2 cups

~ Milk – 1 cup
~ Water – 1 ½ cup (the ½ cup always evaporates)
~ Sugar or Honey – 2 teaspoons or to taste; feel free to use substitutes
~ Ginger - 1 teaspoon, minced or finely chopped
~ Cardamom – 2 little crushed (optional)
~ Tea leaves – 2 teaspoons or more (depending on how strong the leaves are)

1.    In a deep bottomed saucepan, add the water and milk and heat until it starts boiling. Reduce heat and simmer for 5-6 minutes till the liquid thickens a bit. If you want a less milky version, you can bring down the milk to ½ cup but it might take a few times before you really like this miracle beverage, if you are uninitiated. If you want to increase the servings, simply multiply. The milk should always be 50 percent or more of the water plus ½ cup that always evaporates.


2.    Add sugar/honey, stir, and simmer for a few minutes (2-3). I, however, prefer adding sugar in the cups while serving since I believe boiling the sugar at this stage might cause acidity later. But it might only be my ‘belief’.

3.    Add the spices, stir and simmer for 2 minutes and then add the tea leaves. Stir. Simmer for 3-4 minutes. Turn the heat off and let it sit for approximately 4 minutes for the flavours to blend.

4.    If needed, warm again and strain in small tea cups. Serve.

Serving tips:

In order to derive complete satisfaction from such a cup of tea, lie down in a relaxing chair or on a couch in a half sitting position, placing your feet up in a high stool, stretch yourself, and place a book or a newspaper on your lap. Inhale deeply. Exhale. Sip.

The Microwave (Short Cut) Version – for each individual cup

~ Milk – ½ cup
~ Water – ½ cup
~ Sugar or Honey – 1 teaspoons; feel free to use sugar substitutes
~ Ginger – ½ teaspoon, minced (optional)
~ Tea bags – 1 or 2 (depending on how strong they are and how strong you want the chai to be)

1.    Fill the cup halfway with milk, place the teabag(s) in it, and microwave at medium for 2 minutes. Take out the cup, stir well, add sugar and microwave at medium for 2 more minutes.

2.    Add the ginger, if using, and microwave for another minute. Add boiling or hot water to the cup to fill it all the way through. Stir and let rest for a couple of minutes. Strain and enjoy.

Please note: This is really a short cut, make shift version that I employ when I am making chai just for myself and at the same time being lazy enough to perform the elaborate process. There can be two fallouts of the process – if the microwave time is longer, you may find spilt liquid on the turntable. The teabag might also rupture and that means straining the chai before serving becomes mandatory.

Statutory warning: Warming liquid (especially water) in the microwave is risky and should be done with care. Placing the teabag in the cup addresses this issue to a large extent, yet please do be careful.

The serving tip above works in this case as well. Feel free to explore. And share.