The theme for this week’s VRC started by Alysha of The Savoury Notebook is ‘Cardamom’,the queen of all spices.The first thought that came to my mind was ‘Elachi Chai’ or ‘Cardamom Tea’ ,a milky sweet flavoured Indian chai tea which enriches and enlightens my day.Chai-a-holic that I am,my day is incomplete without a freshly brewed cup of warm chai and as I relish every sip of this sweet flavoured chai , a fresh feeling of delicious warmth engulfes me…a truly divine experience.
Cardamom which has a lovely parrot-green shade has seeds that are sweet and fragrant and are used to enhance both sweet and spicy Indian foods like sweet rice pudding,pulao or pilaf and of course not to forget that it is one of the main elements in preparing ‘garam masala’ ,an important ingredient in preparing meat dishes and vegetarian curries as well.
The health promoting benefits cardamom has to offer is immense and is known to ease stomach cramps,stimulate digestion,reduces gas and is a great breath freshner.The antioxidant activity produced in tea is said to be greater than 20 vegetables and fruits and research has shown that cardamom also has antioxidant properties and can restore healthy levels of glutathione.Infact this post would make an apt entry for Sweetnicks ARF/5-A-Day Tuesday too..:)
Elachi chai has a thick and golden brown hue with an aromatic sweet taste with no trace of bitterness.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups water
2/3rd cup milk (you can use skimmed milk)
2-3 pods green cardamom seeds
2 tsps sugar
2 heaped tsps loose tea leaves(non-scented)
Bring water to boil in a stainless steel or non-stick pot. Add cardamom and tea leaves and simmer for a minute. Add milk, sugar and boil till desired colour is obtained.You will know when a lovely aroma is released.Dont boil too much as the tea will impart a bitter flavor.Cover and let it sit for a minute.Strain into cups while piping hot.This serves 2 cups of fragrant cardamom tea.
Note:The amount of milk and water can vary according to personal preference. If you want it more milky, increase the quantity of milk and lessen the water and if you want it less milky reduce milk and increase the quantity of water.
Serve with bajjis ,bhel, pakodas (fritters) or pastries
My entry for this week's VRC-Cardamom and also ARF/5-A-Day Tuesday
Cardamom which has a lovely parrot-green shade has seeds that are sweet and fragrant and are used to enhance both sweet and spicy Indian foods like sweet rice pudding,pulao or pilaf and of course not to forget that it is one of the main elements in preparing ‘garam masala’ ,an important ingredient in preparing meat dishes and vegetarian curries as well.
The health promoting benefits cardamom has to offer is immense and is known to ease stomach cramps,stimulate digestion,reduces gas and is a great breath freshner.The antioxidant activity produced in tea is said to be greater than 20 vegetables and fruits and research has shown that cardamom also has antioxidant properties and can restore healthy levels of glutathione.Infact this post would make an apt entry for Sweetnicks ARF/5-A-Day Tuesday too..:)
Elachi chai has a thick and golden brown hue with an aromatic sweet taste with no trace of bitterness.Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups water
2/3rd cup milk (you can use skimmed milk)
2-3 pods green cardamom seeds
2 tsps sugar
2 heaped tsps loose tea leaves(non-scented)
Bring water to boil in a stainless steel or non-stick pot. Add cardamom and tea leaves and simmer for a minute. Add milk, sugar and boil till desired colour is obtained.You will know when a lovely aroma is released.Dont boil too much as the tea will impart a bitter flavor.Cover and let it sit for a minute.Strain into cups while piping hot.This serves 2 cups of fragrant cardamom tea.
Note:The amount of milk and water can vary according to personal preference. If you want it more milky, increase the quantity of milk and lessen the water and if you want it less milky reduce milk and increase the quantity of water.
Serve with bajjis ,bhel, pakodas (fritters) or pastries
My entry for this week's VRC-Cardamom and also ARF/5-A-Day Tuesday
Food,Food Blogs,Tea,Cardamom,Indian Recipes,Flickr
8 comments:
I'm a big fan of elaichi tea too; the medicical benefits of the spice is new information to me. good to know that the sweet smelling elaichi is sweet to my body too:)
Hello Sailu
Thanks alot for the wonderful Comment and your blog is awesome i went trough everything and i print out to try it at home keep it up and wish to get more and more from you. Good luck and keep in touch. Take care.
regards
Jei
Hi Sailu..
My regular cup of tea in the weekend is the cardamom tea.It sure does impart a great flavour.Thanks for the tip(about the bitter flavor.I add less water and more milk..bcoz my hubby likes it that way..
Hi Sailu, I tagged you for the You are what you eat meme! So do post on it!
Who can resist a nice flavoured tea,Reshma?
Thanks,Jei.
bdsn,its matter of personal preference or choice and you can play with different spices & herbs like ginger,cinnamom or cloves.
Thanks for tagging me,Sukanya.I have already done this meme in Dec and here's my link to You Are What You Eat Meme
Hi Sailu,
I was looking at your blog today and realized that I blogged about chai very similar to your chai post. I read that you called cardamom the queen of spices - Last week I blogged about cardamom and used the exact same phrase. I was totally blown away by the amazing coincidence!!!! I love your site and your informative posts.
cheers!
Hey Sailu.Iam a regular visitor on ur site andi love all ur recipes and the pictures...I was looking thru ur recipes and i came upon this post.
I make my chai like this everyday and i add some strands of saffron to it after straining it..It tastes awesome..try it out and c..im sure you will enjoy it...:))
Take care
Sudha
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