Adrakwali Chai Recipe

Ardrakwali Chai is made with fresh ginger, tea leaves and milk. This Indian ginger tea is a much-loved beverage due to its revitalizing aroma and health benefits.

The monsoon and winter are when we appreciate this masala tea the most. It gives the much-needed warmth and eases an itchy throat. Much appreciated once you come back drenched as it gets ready in 15 minutes. In an Indian household generally, the day begins with tea and this is one of them.

This tea is something I cannot do without be it rain or shine I want my cuppa! My afternoon tea is generally plain. However, you can serve it with cutlets, bhajiya, chivda, khaman, poha. The other tea recipes we enjoy are Lemon Honey Tea, Butterfly Pea Tea Shake Recipe, and 4 Delicious Ways to Make Iced Tea Recipe.

Ingredients

These are your ingredients for quantities please check the recipe card.

• Water: Use 1 ½ to 2 times the volume of tea. 
• Ginger: Fresh ginger grated, minced or crushed. 
• Sugar: Use sugar or jaggery to sweeten your tea.
• Tea leaves: use good tea the choice is yours. I f you want a mild tea use lesser tea leaves.
• Milk: Use full-fat dairy milk. I skim the milk off the cream and add) it to the tea.
• Cardamom, lemon grass leaves (optional

Instructions

• Boil water in a pan with grated ginger and sugar. Add the cardamom and lemon grass if using.
• Add tea leaves and simmer for a minute or two.
• Add milk and stir. Let the mixture simmer for a minute or two basically till you get the colour you like.
• Strain and serve.

Grated or crushed ginger infuses well in teh water. Similarly crush cardamon and cut the lemon grass into about 2-inch-sized pieces. You can strain the tea well if the long strands of lemon grass are not in the way.

Substitutions

• Sugar- you can leave out the sugar completely. There are alternatives like sugar-free that you can use. Jaggery is an option but I will add it in the end. The milk may split so add jaggery after you switch off the flame.
• Milk- I like dairy milk in my tea but you can leave it out totally. Take care not to boil the leaves a lot. You can also use plant-based milk like almond milk. Add and do not boil after adding the milk.
• Ginger- if you cannot source fresh ginger use dried one. You can easily get it. It is called shunti or shunt powder.

Variations

• Masala Chai- add ginger, cardamom, lemon grass, cloves and cinnamon. Masala chai varies from region to region so add what you like. You can also use the special masala chai blend commercially available.
• Cutting Chai- if you are invited for cutting chai get ready for a hot and strong tea. You will be served half the regular tea. Cutting chai is very popular in Mumbai.
• Special Chai- in eateries you may order special tea. What is special is that it is made generally fresh and has more milk and spices. Regular tea is boiled and stored in a thermos for people like me who do not like stored tea special chai it is.
• Futi Cha- in Goa, you can enjoy futi chai which is mild everyday tea that is enjoyed without milk. Just like our herbal teas.
• Herbal teas- use mint leaves to make mint tea. Holy basil leaves make tulsi tea these are enjoyed without milk. You can also add ginger to these teas. They are especially effective to treat cough and colds. Feel free to leave out the tea if you wish! Our favourite tea when we have a cold is this lemon honey tea.
• A mixture of ginger, lemon grass and cardamom helps reduce migraine headaches. Try it this is a local remedy for what is called “ardhshishi” half-headaches.

Equipment

• Pan
• Peeler
• Grater
• Strainer
• Cups

Storage

• This tea does not taste as good when stored. If you need to store do not add milk but finish it off in 4 hours.

Protips

• Tea is a mixture so the amount of milk, tea leaves, spices and sugar are all adjustable.
• Grated or crushed ginger helps infuse the flavours in the tea.
• The quantity of ginger is a personal choice. For a stronger flavour of ginger add more ginger.
• In case you cannot source fresh ginger use powdered ginger commercially available. This powder is strong so use a lesser quantity.
• You can also add crushed lemon grass, cardamom, cloves or cinnamon. Use them individually or together.
• More milk will give you a milky-tasting tea, special tea is generally made in milk. For a stronger tea flavour use lesser milk.
• For stronger tea, you will need to boil the tea for 3-4 minutes. Hence for a milder tea boil.
• You can always add heated milk to the tea in your cup. Or add milk to the same pot of water, ginger and tea. well. Let the mixture boil well before you add milk or the milk to curdle.
• If you plan to use jaggery to sweeten the tea do not add milk to the boiling tea. Add hot milk to the tea after you get it off the flame.

FAQ's

When is it advisable to drink ginger tea?

Ginger tea can be had at any time of the day. However, I will avoid tea after 6:30 pm as I have difficulty falling asleep after this time.

How do I know I have boiled the ginger enough?

Start with 1 cup of water and boil with the ginger. After about 5 minutes the water will turn yellowish and smell of ginger and you will have about ¾ cup of water. This is an indication that you have boiled the tea enough.

Why is Tea popular in India?

In India, people unwind, relax and socialise with tea. Making tea is easy and you have the ingredients in your pantry. Tea pairs well with almost anything from cutlets to biscuits.

• Tea is a mixture so the amount of milk, tea leaves, spices and sugar are all adjustable.
• Grated or crushed ginger helps infuse the flavours in the tea.
• The quantity of ginger is a personal choice. For a stronger flavour of ginger add more ginger.
• In case you cannot source fresh ginger use powdered ginger commercially available. This powder is strong so use a lesser quantity.
• You can also add crushed lemon grass, cardamom, cloves or cinnamon. Use them individually or together.
• More milk will give you a milky-tasting tea, special tea is made generally in milk. For a stronger tea flavour use leser milk.
• For stronger tea you will need to boil the tea for 3-4 minutes. Hence for a milder tea boil for a shorter period.
• Strain the tea well, small flecks of the tea powder or grated ginger will reduce your enjoyment of tea. 

FAQ

Related

Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:

Pairing

These are my favourite dishes to serve with [this recipe]:

Benefits of Adrak Chai 

• Ginger a rhizome is beneficial for health. It contains magnesium, Vitamin C and minerals.
• A remedy for cold and cough is ginger or shunti, dried ginger. 

So what are you waiting for? It is pouring so make some adrak wali chai right now. 

Recipe Card:

Adrak wali Chai Recipe

Garam garam Chai which means hot tea is welcome beverage for most Indians.

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Course: Beverages, Drinks

Cuisine: Indian

Keyword: Beverages, Ginger tea, Tea

Prep Time: 2 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Servings: 2 cups

Calories: 80kcal

Author: ArchanaPotdar

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Equipment

• Pan
• Peeler
• Grater
• Strainer
• Cups

Ingredients

• 3 cups water
• 2 tablespoon sugar
• ½ inch ginger grated
• 2 teaspoon tea leaves
• ½ cup milk
• 2 cardamon pods optional
• 2 lemon grass leaves cut in pieces (optional)

Instructions

• Heat water in a pan with the grated ginger. Add the cardamom and lemon grass leaves if using.
  
• I generally boil it down to half then add sugar. Let it dissolve.
  
• Add tea powder and bring it to boil.
  
• Add milk and let it boil for a minute or two.
  
• Strain and serve garam garam chai.
  

Video

Notes

Variations

• Masala Chai-  add a mix of ginger, cardamom, lemon grass, cloves and cinnamon. 

• Cutting Chai-  You will be served half the regular tea. 

• Special Chai- in eateries you may order special tea. What special tea means it is made fresh and has more milk and spices. 

• Futi Cha- is mild everyday tea that is enjoyed without milk. 

• Herbal teas- use mint leaves to make mint tea. Holy basil leaves make tulsi tea these are enjoyed without milk. You can also add ginger to these teas. 

• A mixture of ginger, lemon grass and cardamom helps reduce migraine headaches.