Tea masala, a quintessential Indian spice blend, adds warmth and flavor to the traditional chai tea, making it a cherished beverage during chilly winter days. This fragrant mixture blends a variety of spices like cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and occasionally black pepper, resulting in a luxurious and soothing beverage that rejuvenates both the mind and body.
Within Indian homes, the craft of preparing tea masala is a tradition handed down across generations, where every family possesses its distinct blend and undisclosed ingredients. The spices not only impart a delightful aroma but also offer various health benefits, from aiding digestion to boosting immunity, giving warmth during cold winter and making you feel refreshed. During winter, sipping on a steaming cup of chai infused with tea masala becomes a cherished ritual, offering a cozy respite from the cold weather. Whether enjoyed alone or paired with favorite snacks like pakoras or biscuits, tea masala is a delightful treat that embodies the heartwarming essence of Indian hospitality.
For preparing winter special Indian tea by using this Tea masala, follow the link to a recipe here.
Let’s begin by going through a list of utensils or items you will need to start the preparation. The links below will help you buy them straight from Amazon.
Tea masala (chai masala) recipe to make every morning Tea so special in Winter!
Tea masala ingredients
Tea masala recipe instructions
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- Gather all these ingredients
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15 gm green cardamom(elaichi) -
1/2 nutmeg(jaiphal) -
2-3 black cardamom(elcha) -
5 to 6 (15 gm) cinnamon sticks(taj) -
10 gm black pepper -
15 gm cloves(laving) -
25 gm dry ginger powder (sonth) -
5 gm white pepper
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- Crush the black cardamoms pods to let its seed come out.
- Break the cinnamon sticks into some smaller parts if possible.
- (Optional but recommended) - Place all the spices into a sunlight for an hour or 2. Please ensure the weather should not be cloudy or damp as the whole purpose of this step is to remove any dampness and make them completely dry.
- If you have a whole dried ginger then, crush it into a powder.
- Take a frying pan, set the gas flame to low setting and then, add all the spices except dry ginger powder into a pan. And continue to dry roast in the frying pan for 2 to 3 minutes or until you starts to smell light aroma.
- If you have not followed sunlight drying step mentioned earlier then, you may need to dry roast ingredients for 4 to 5 minutes.
The aim for dry roasting is to remove the moisture from all spices before grinding. So, it is essential that you do not continue to roast for more than advised time, else burning of spices could begin and that is not desirable outcome as burnt spices could make the tea taste bitter.
- Transfer all the roasted spices into another plate.
- Allow it to rest until it has fully cooled down.
- Take a grinder/mixture jar, add all the roasted spices and grind them first.
- Now, add dry ginger powder into the same jar and grind them all together until they are finely ground/mixed.
- Now, the Tea masala is ready.
- Take an airtight glass container and transfer all the Tea masala into it and store it for future use. The process of "how to use Tea Masala during tea making" can be found here.
You may add 10 to 15 grams dried fennel seeds into the preparation of Tea masala if you wish to use the masala that could be used for during summer and winter both. The reason for this is that fennel seeds possess cooling properties, which help to counterbalance the heating effects caused by other ingredients and making it usable during summer. - Gather all these ingredients
