Spiced Milk Chai with Cardamom
A black tea simmered in milk with a bouquet of spices — cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, clove — sweetened with sugar. It is served steaming hot, strained, in small cups, at any hour.
A black tea simmered in milk with a bouquet of spices — cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, clove — sweetened with sugar. It is served steaming hot, strained, in small cups, at any hour.
Before the sun rose over the hills, I would set the milk to simmer with the spices, and the whole house would fill with their fragrance. Cardamom first, my child, always cardamom — it is what opens the heart. Let the tea dance in the milk, do not rush it. One cup at dawn, another before the evening chant: thus our days passed, sweet and full.
- •Milk — two cups (base)
- •Water — one cup (infusion)
- •Black tea — two spoonfuls (tea)
- •Green cardamom — a few pods (signature spice)
- •Fresh ginger — a piece (warmth)
- •Cinnamon — one stick (sweet spice)
- •Clove — two or three (spice)
- •Sugar — to taste (sweetness)
Spiced Milk Chai with Cardamom
A black tea simmered in milk with a bouquet of spices — cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, clove — sweetened with sugar. It is served steaming hot, strained, in small cups, at any hour.
Why this dish? Chai accompanied the long days of meditation, rehearsal, and singing at the ashram. A non-alcoholic, warming, and fragrant beverage, it suited the sober and spiritual life that Alice Coltrane led in her Hindu community.
Before the sun rose over the hills, I would set the milk to simmer with the spices, and the whole house would fill with their fragrance. Cardamom first, my child, always cardamom — it is what opens the heart. Let the tea dance in the milk, do not rush it. One cup at dawn, another before the evening chant: thus our days passed, sweet and full.
Ingredients (period version)
- Milk — two cups (base)
- Water — one cup (infusion)
- Black tea — two spoonfuls (tea)
- Green cardamom — a few pods (signature spice)
- Fresh ginger — a piece (warmth)
- Cinnamon — one stick (sweet spice)
- Clove — two or three (spice)
- Sugar — to taste (sweetness)
Ingredients
- Whole milk — 500 ml (base)
- Water — 250 ml (infusion)
- Assam black tea — 2 tsp (or 2 tea bags) (tea)
- Green cardamom pods — 5 (signature spice)
- Fresh ginger — 3 slices (warmth)
- Cinnamon stick — 1 (sweet spice)
- Cloves — 3 (spice)
- Sugar — 2 to 3 tsp (sweetness)
Method
- Lightly crush the cardamom pods and cloves in a mortar.
- Bring the water to a simmer with the ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves; let infuse for 3 minutes.
- Add the black tea and let it boil gently for 2 minutes.
- Pour in the milk and sugar, then bring to a boil over medium heat; let the milk rise and fall two or three times (without overflowing) to blend the flavors well.
- Strain into small cups and serve piping hot.
How it was made : Masala chai is traditionally prepared by boiling water, milk, tea, and spices together — unlike Western tea, which is simply infused. Each family keeps its own spice blend, passed down orally. Its spread in the West accompanied the interest in Indian spirituality in the 1960s-1970s, the very milieu in which Alice Coltrane moved.
The contemporary twist : Plant-based version: replace the milk with almond or oat milk, in keeping with the ashram's sattvic and contemporary spirit.
Alice Coltrane · Charactorium
