When I moved to New York City almost fifteen years ago, a friend took me on a downtown tour of inexpensive places to fill my belly. One stop was the Lahore Deli, a Pakistani joint on the edge of Soho where for four dollars I could have a little box of rice, dal and veggies plus a hot cup of sweet milky chai. The chai's share of that bill was one dollar; these days it's a buck fifty.
It was there, inside Lahore Deli, where my love for chai blossomed and as I made my way farther afield in the city, I scouted out other places for great chai, but I never found one that matches Lahore's and so when the craving comes — and it comes almost daily — I either meander over to Crosby Street, or I make my own.

Chai literally means tea to much of the world, but most English speakers think of chai as the spiced tea drink Masala Chai. So yes, technically Chai Tea means "tea tea."
There are two ways to do this: throw just about everything in a pot of water and simmer, then add the milk, tea and sweetener and brew for a few minutes; or, let the spices soak overnight in the water then simmer in the morning with your tea leaves and milk. For tea leaves, use Assam or Ceylon tea if you're a purist. English Breakfast will also do. I use loose PG Tips tea.
Play around with the flavors. More cardamom if you're a fan, for example. The fellows at the deli tell me it's a sin to combine the ginger with the milk, but I like the extra dimension of heat it adds. Find your own formula. Once you hit it, you'll know.

Masala Chai Tea
makes one 8 ounce serving
3/4 cup water
2-4 whole green cardamom pods, smashed
1-2 thin slices fresh ginger
1 1-inch cinnamon stick
1 piece star anise
3/4 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoons loose black tea leaves
Sweetener, to taste (I prefer honey or maple syrup)
In a small saucepan, combine the water, cardamom, ginger, cinnamon stick and star anise. Bring the mixture to a boil then lower the heat and simmer for a few minutes until the mixture is fragrant. Add the milk and tea leaves, and simmer for another minute then turn off the heat and let steep for 2 minutes. Pour into a cup through a fine mesh sieve. Discard the leaves and spices. Add sweetener, to taste.
If you want deeply flavorful tea in the morning, follow these alternate directions starting the night before.
In a small saucepan, combine the water, cardamom, cinnamon stick and star anise. Do not add the ginger yet. Bring to a boil then turn it off and cover the pan. In the morning, add the sliced ginger and bring to a boil then lower the heat and simmer for a few minutes until the mixture is fragrant. Add the milk and tea leaves, and simmer for another minute then turn off the heat and let steep for 2 minutes. Pour into a cup through a fine mesh sieve. Discard the tea and spices. Add sweetener, to taste.
Related: Recipe Review: Saveur's Bourbon Chai
(images: Sara Kate Gillingham-Ryan)
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Comments (28)
I use to make this for my ex. At first there was a lot of experimentation as I couldn't figure out what gave it that kick (hint: it's not Black pepper). Finally I came up with a very simple recipe to add in addition to the milk and tea: GCCC (ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves)
But the star anise sounds like a good substitution.
This looks delicious. I use a similar recipe and have used agave as the sweetener as well. I also used a similar spice combination to make chai ice cream.
Jeez, I LOVE Lahore Deli. Oh the delicious food at affordable prices. I worked in SoHo for many years and it was a regular lunchtime haunt - but I never tried the Chai!
I agree, ginger is important! As a sweetener, I like to use condensed milk.
As a south asian woman, making chai was a right-of-passage for a young girl. I made my first cup at the age of 11. I live in Soho and drop into Lahore Deli to get a cup of chai, whenever I don't feel like making it at home. It's delicious.
This recipe is pretty spot on. The only think I would highlight is that the milk needs to come to a boil. Otherwise, the chai is considered 'raw' (i.e. uncooked). Otherwise, ingredients and proportions are great. Ginger isn't always used in everyday chai - it's normally used to add an extra kick or if someone has a cold.
1 piece star anise, is this one segment or one whole star anise? The photo shows one whole star anise, but by piece I am assuming you mean only one segment. Correct?
I am going to try the overnight version! we add peppercorns and allspice to ours...with a touch of honey. Mmmmm.
Does anyone have a good loose-leaf chai blend for busy weekday mornings? I used to drink Teavana's Roobois Chai, which was amazing until I realized Roobois has no caffeine in it. None of their black tea chai blends are as nice. I want something I can toss into my teapot and steep in water from my 2-minute electric kettle, leaving the stove free for breakfast/lunch prep.
For weekends I am definitely trying this, though!
I like to add peppercorns as well -- it's a nice kick to counter the milk&sugar coziness.
My favorite method, though, is to simmer all the spices for as long as I can stand/till the water reduces by about half (there's probably an optimal time), then freeze the strained liquid into chai ice cubes. Two cubes are usually good to make a standard tea mug + milk & sugar.
It may not be authentic, but it's quick.
I've had a pretty decent chai at a buffet place in downtown Baltimore. Can't recall the name. It was VERY peppery. My Indian friend told me--for what it's worth--she thought it was lychee.
I also know this recipe with cloves instead of star anise. That sounds like an interesting flavor to introduce.
As an Indian who loves my chai, would like to suggest that all the spices, replacing dried ginger for fresh (it packs an extra special punch) could be ground and stored to use. Boil the tea leaves with the spices for about 5 mins and then add the milk and bring back up to boil. Makes a good strong cup to start that fire in the belly!
Now there's a thought: can I mix ground spices into my brewed tea when I add milk? Or does boiling the milk with spices and tea add something special that the English method of steep + milk won't do?
I recently had my friend try "Indian style chai", that is what I call it to differentiate because as you pointed out "Chai tea" is saying "tea tea". She has been hooked and had me write down a recipe that night. Like another commenter, Indian girls make chai from a very young age and it comes naturally to me now so writing down the recipe was a bit difficult at first.
Your recipe looks good but I agree with @IKAAS about the boiling of the milk. It is a VERY, VERY important step for the right taste. I let mine boil for at least two minutes (or until the right color emerges), using a spoon to keep the milk contained.
I like the ice cube idea.....I may have to try it!
Another South Asian girl here who has been drinking and making chai her whole life. When I make chai, I add all the chai masala (spices) and the loose black tea in together so that the tea properly steeps and gets strong. In addition to the spices that have been mentioned, I also like to add mint leaves and a few snips of lemongrass. Lemongrass is my favorite. Once the tea and spices boil, then add the milk and sugar and that all come to a boil. Then serve immediately.
making your own chai is the best but when you don't have the time or ingredients, my favorite mix is: Jaipur Avenue Chai, based locally for me in seattle. Masala mix gives you classic, cardamom (my favorite!) or saffron. I really like the newest Ginger Chai also! you can purchase online from chefshop.com or on amazon.
I used to work at an Indian restaurant that made a very simple Chai of steeping green cardamom pods in milk & water & then adding the black tea to that at the end. It is SO delicious and I love it more than the spicy Chai, although I love that too. I've gotten friends addicted to it. I also steep cardamom pods in milk (non-dairy for me, like rice or almond) and then add espresso for my lattes. Your post is a great testament to why people love living in cities. It's a joy to find gems like Lahore Deli.
does anyone have any tips on heating non-dairy milks? i've had problems with both soy and almond milks separating/curdling when heated in a microwave, which is the only way to do it at my workplace.
NICOLE309: i've always used the whole star in recipes calling for star anise. if that's too strong for you, then i'd try breaking a point off or maybe just substituting cloves instead.
I have a terrible cold and a cup of chai sounds so good to me. I'm going to try your recipe using almond milk. Thanks much!
oh this post made my day :) I lived in Lahore for 5 years (went to the arts college there, fell in love..with art, food, chai and my man). Like every Pakistani girl we make chai everyday. Mostly we only add green cardomom to milk, along with loose black tea and sugar and this enough for everyday chai. Your recipe is perfect.
A similar mixture of these spices for spice chai is available at T2 here in Melbourne.
Interesting - my family is Indian and we have never used star anise for cooking or chai, nor have our friends from other states in India - I will have to check this out. For those of you looking for a basic blend, you can also try masala chai spice mixes or powders from South Asian groceries. Warning, these tend to be very peppery. I agree that a good basic start is black tea, sugar, and cardamom.
Actually, no, that's not how to make chai. 'Chai' is tea in the way it's made in India: Put the spices, etc. into the pot with the water, and when it's boiling, add the milk (ratio of milk to water is 1:3). When all of that starts to boil, remove it from the stove and strain the tea into each cup. The key is to make sure it boils twice, first with the water, then again after the milk is added. There is no 'simmering' involved. And as soon as it starts boiling the second time, with the milk, the pot should be removed from the stove because a) it will burn very, very quickly and taste awful, and b) it will boil over within a matter of seconds.
I have to say JasmineIsDomestic has it right, re method. That said, it depends what kind of tea you are using. Do NOT boil or simmer a fine Darjeeling or single estate tea --- not will you have killed the aroma, you risk bitterness! You want a robust Assam or blend thereof for what we call the 'boiled tea' method.
The star anise is, of course, quite untraditional. Not an Indian spice per se, very little local currency except as an 'exotic spice' to us. That said, I find it interesting because --- like ginger and honey --- it reminds me of another ingredient that used to be added in for those feeling a little under the weather: licorice, which has enough notes of similarity. Licorice, sadly, has fallen largely out of favour in everyday cooking.
With all of that going on, this is certainly what we would classify as a 'fortifying' tea rather than an everyday masala chai. What I am missing here --- as others have said --- is pepper! And while we're doing some health-boosting, we'd go ahead and add a few leaves of holy basil (most of India calls it 'tulsi' and it is related to basil, in fact), or the juice thereof, to really clear the pipes and build immunity :-D
I rushed over to Sahadi's and stocked up on the spices and am drinking a cup of chai right now. Delicious, even though I forgot to add ginger!
But I think I'll have to take the tip from some of the Indian commenters above and put in tea from the beginning as a more robust tea flavor would work better.
@Miriamjudith my roommate used to make me chai with sweetened condensed milk and it was the best chai I've ever had in the states!
If you want to make 2 cups of chai at a time, do you double the spices or leave the spices the same and just double the tea, milk and water?
I absolutely love homemade chai. I grew up drinking it. I personally love the ginger flavor so I always use lots of ginger. Here is my recipe:
http://chocolate-coveredlove.blogspot.com/2013/01/homemade-masala-chai.html