Aromatic, warm and rich: that is how this masala chai can be described. The addition of fresh turmeric not only gives it a lovely golden touch but also makes it perfect for the winter season, providing the much needed immunity and warmth.

Chai is the quintessential drink for many Indian households. Even though the weather is relatively warm for most of the year, there is no compromise on chai. The only difference being the addition of spices like ginger, cloves,cardamom etc in winter. So, you can say chai is for throughout the year, while masala chai is more a winter thing.
Everyone has their own way of making chai, and their own preferences how they like their chai: strong (karak) or light, sweet or not too sweet, with or without ginger, with lot of milk or less milk. But the common thing about the Indian chai is that it always contains milk and black tea leaves. Usually, we use loose black tea leaves in India but if you don’t have access to loose tea leaves, black tea bags would also do.

Unlike british tea, the tea leaves in chai need to be cooked for several minutes to release their color and full aroma. Cooking the milk and water mixture with tea leaves and spices, makes it richer and aromatic. For best results, use full fat milk.
Ingredients at a glance:

- You can find loose black tea leaves from an Indian or Asian store.
- Fresh turmeric could be found at a well stocked grocery store (my local Edeka stores it) or an Asian store.
- You can omit or also add any other spices of your choice like peppercorn, star anise or nutmeg.

Golden Masala Chai
Ingredients
- 1 small piece fresh turmeric (3 cm) (substitute 1/4 tsp turmeric powder)
- 1 small piece ginger (3 cm)
- 2 green cardamom
- 2 cloves
- 1 small cinnamon stick (2-3 cm)
- 1½ cup water
- 4 tsp loose black tea leaves (4 bags of black tea-Darjeeling or Assam)
- 2 tsp brown sugar (optional)
- 1 cup full fat milk
Instructions
- Using a mortar and pestle, crush the ginger and turmeric. Add the cardamom, cloves and cinnamon and roughly crush everything to release the aroma.
- In a saucepan add water, along with all the crushed spices, tea leaves and sugar (if using). Bring it to boil and then simmer and let cook for 5 minutes.
- Add the milk, bring to boil. Simmer again and let cook for another 5 minutes.
- Pass the chai through a sieve to pour into a cup/kettle. Wait for a few minutes before sipping as it's very hot.
Notes
- You can find loose black tea leaves from an Indian or Asian store.
- Fresh turmeric could be found at a well stocked grocery store (my local Edeka stores it) or an Asian store.
- You can omit or also add any other spices of your choice like peppercorn, star anise or nutmeg.
- You can add/ reduce the amount of tea leaves to control the strength of your chai.Â