flipCha, Calcutta Milk Tea
Cha, Calcutta Milk Tea
Why this dish? Her profile says: wherever she is, in the US or India, Spivak "keeps the daily tea ritual that recalls her childhood in Calcutta". Sweet, spiced cha is the thread connecting her two worlds.
Black tea boiled with milk, sugar and spices, served very hot. A daily gesture, portable comfort of a life shared between Calcutta and New York.
Tea is the habit that has never left me, wherever life has taken me. In Ithaca, in the cold, or in Calcutta in the heavy heat, I prepare the same cup, and suddenly childhood is there. You boil the water, the tea, the milk together — not separately, certainly not like the English — with a little crushed ginger and a green cardamom pod. It is a tea that speaks two languages, like me. And you must drink it hot, marking a silence: even the most difficult thoughts wait until the tea cools a little.
- •Assam black tea — a good spoonful (base)
- •Milk — half the cup (body)
- •Sugar — to taste (sweetness)
- •Fresh ginger — a crushed piece (warmth)
- •Green cardamom — one pod (fragrance)
Cha, Calcutta Milk Tea
Black tea boiled with milk, sugar and spices, served very hot. A daily gesture, portable comfort of a life shared between Calcutta and New York.
Why this dish? Her profile says: wherever she is, in the US or India, Spivak "keeps the daily tea ritual that recalls her childhood in Calcutta". Sweet, spiced cha is the thread connecting her two worlds.
Tea is the habit that has never left me, wherever life has taken me. In Ithaca, in the cold, or in Calcutta in the heavy heat, I prepare the same cup, and suddenly childhood is there. You boil the water, the tea, the milk together — not separately, certainly not like the English — with a little crushed ginger and a green cardamom pod. It is a tea that speaks two languages, like me. And you must drink it hot, marking a silence: even the most difficult thoughts wait until the tea cools a little.
Ingredients (period version)
- Assam black tea — a good spoonful (base)
- Milk — half the cup (body)
- Sugar — to taste (sweetness)
- Fresh ginger — a crushed piece (warmth)
- Green cardamom — one pod (fragrance)
Ingredients
- Assam loose black tea — 2 tsp (base)
- Water — 150 ml (infusion)
- Milk — 150 ml (body)
- Sugar — 1-2 tsp (sweetness)
- Crushed fresh ginger — 1 small piece (warmth)
- Green cardamom — 1 pod, crushed (fragrance)
Method
- Bring water to a boil with ginger and cardamom.
- Add tea, let infuse and boil 1-2 min.
- Pour in milk and sugar, let come to a boil two or three times without overflowing.
- Strain into a warm cup and serve immediately.
How it was made : Spiced milk tea became India's popular drink in the 20th century, after the colonial promotion of Assam and Bengal tea. In Calcutta, it is drunk from small disposable clay cups (bhaar) at street corners.
The contemporary twist : Serve it in a small terracotta cup (kulhar) to recapture the mineral taste of Bengali street tea.
Sources : Lizzie Collingham, "Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors", 2006
Gayatri Spivak · Charactorium
