Badi Elaichi Chai like You've Never Had Before
Quite by accident, Nirupama Kondayya found the smoky warmth of black cardamom chai, an anchor for conversations and friendships, far from home, in the cold weather of England. Find more favourite lockdown recipes from Goya readers here.
About two weeks ago I was out of green cardamom, and used black cardamom in my chai instead. The smoky flavours of badi elaichi were a revelation! Almost like its been made in a tandoor.
RECIPE: Black Cardamom tea
(Serves 2)
Ingredients
1 cup water
1 cup milk (I prefer half-and-half, but you can use full fat if you like)
1 black cardamom
2-3 inches of ginger
3 tsp tea (I use Red Label)
Sugar, to taste
Method
Using a mortar and pestle, crack open the black cardamom.
Take out the skin, and crush the pods to powder.
Place both skin and pods, with 1 cup of water in a vessel.
Crush the ginger thoroughly in the mortar-pestle and add to the vessel. Bring the water to a boil. On medium-low flame, allow it boil for another minute.
Now, add in the tea powder. Allow to boil for only 10 seconds so that it doesn’t overpower the spices. (If you prefer your tea strong, go ahead and boil to your liking).
Now, add in one cup of milk. When it comes to a boil, add in the sugar.
Adding sugar at the end ensures the tea doesn’t split because of conflicting properties of ginger and sugar.
Remove from the stove. Strain and serve with your favourite snacks, or enjoy as is.
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