South Asian cuisine has offered to the world many culinary
masterpieces of hot spicy food,
among them masala chai has a
significant place. Strangely enough, yet after extra spicy food
Asian
people take not “neutral” drinks to extinguish the
burning
tongue, but the so-called “spiced tea” - masala
chai. Healthy,
nourishing and tasty, in India masala chai has left behind other
world-widespread beverage – coffee.
There are many variants of making this magnificent beverage,
still
its main ingredients are milk, tea leaves, spices, water and some
sweetener. The main point is to keep the tea leaves in the boiling or
just boiled water long enough until all the components absorb the tea
leaves' aroma. But don't draw the tea too long, otherwise it becomes
bitter.
Asian markets offer all the necessary for spicy food cooking.
Making masala chai you will need ginger, cardamom, cinnamon,
peppercorns, star anise, - in some variations nutmeg,
vanilla, saffron,
cocoa and even cloves. Traditionally this beverage is strong and as
spicy as other Asian spicy food, refreshing and invigorating. Plain
white or unprocessed sugar, as well as honey and molasses are used as
a sweetener. Whole milk can be replaced with dried milk, which is
convenient if there is no fridge, or with soy milk – for
those who
are lactose-intolerant. As for the tea leaves, a strong black blend is
a
good base, however somewhere, in Kashmir for instance, people use
the green tea leaves, adding black pepper, cinnamon and almonds. The
pink
color of such chai symbolizes the blood of the martyrs which
died struggling for freedom of Kashmir.
Masala chai, as well as Asian spicy food, is becoming popular
in the other parts of the world. Thus Oregon chai,
seasoned with honey and vanilla, differs from Indian variant in which
the taste of spices dominates the milk. Actually Indian spicy food,
famous for its variety, can't be imagined without masala chai. It is a
common ending of every snack. Eating hot
spicy food and
drinking spicy
beverages Asian people protect their intestines from bacterias which
multiply very fast in tropical countries.
So if you want to get
acquainted with Asian spicy food, you'd better to start with masala
chai – it can be not so spicy as main courses, but is rather
delicious.
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