Chai Masala is the secret ingredient to make the Indian style masala chai at home. Learn how to make traditional chai masala spice mix from scratch.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
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What is Masala Chai?
Masala Chai is an Indian style hot milk tea flavoured with spices. It is a more fragrant and spiced version of English milk tea. Chai or tea isn’t just another beverage in the subcontinent. Instead, it’s an emotion and something that one can share memories, good weather, and gossip over.
Masala tea is unarguably delicious, but it also boasts of several benefits apart from the taste, which gives you one more reason to get another cuppa.
- Reduces inflammation – Ginger present in the tea masala is effective in reducing inflammation in the body. Inflammation is the underlying cause of most diseases
- Balances hormones – Cinnamon and cloves in the tea masala help women balance their hormones, promote insulin absorption and help balance blood sugars
- Better digestion – A hot cup of tea may help your food digest better and aid in reducing bloating and weight loss as well
- Clears the sinuses – For those with a blocked nose or annoyingly plugged masala passage, a steaming hot cup of masala chai may help hear out block sinuses and relieve discomfort
- Instant mood upliftment – Needless to say, tea instantly energises you a gives you fresh start regardless of what time of day you drink it
About Chai Masala Mix
Chai Masala is an Indian spice mix mainly used to flavour the milk tea (chai). This masala tea powder is a dry, ready-to-use, gluten-free, and vegan spice powder that can be stored for a year.
It is a blend of whole spices – green cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, black peppercorns, dry ginger powder, and nutmeg.
A dash of masala tea powder can be used in cinnamon rolls, pumpkin pie, pumpkin cake, or gingerbread cake. Instead of opening different jars of spices, it is always easy to add a teaspoon of chai masala to flavour the dish.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Green Cardamom is known as ‘elaichi’ in Hindi. It adds aroma and sweet taste to the tea masala.
- Cloves are called ‘laung’ in Hindi. It has a sharp and earthy taste. It is a natural home remedy for dental pain or cold/cough.
- Cinnamon or ‘dal cheeni’ is the best companion of milk beverages. It is an antioxidant that helps in controlling diabetes, cholesterol, and high blood pressure.
- Black Peppercorns or ‘kali mirch’ gives a little spicy kick to the tea masala.
- Dry Ginger Powder is known as ‘saunth’ in Hindi. It is the powder of dried ginger roots. Usually, fresh ginger root is added separately in masala tea. But with ginger powder already in the spice mix no need to add fresh ginger root.
- Nutmeg or ‘jaiphal’ aids in digestion and strengthens the human immunity system.
Watch Chai Masala Video
Storage Suggestion
Store Chai Masala at room temperature in an airtight container. It remains fresh and aromatic for 6 months. Or you can store it in the refrigerator in an airtight jar to increase the shelf life.
I prefer storing tea masala powder in a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid to retain its freshness, taste, and aroma.
More Indian Spice Mix Recipes
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Chai Masala Recipe
- Grinder
- Stir Fry Pan
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Green Cardamon (Elaichi)
- 1 tablespoon Dry Ginger Powder (Saunth)
- ½ tablespoon Cloves (Laung)
- ½ tablespoon Black Peppercorns (Kali mirch)
- ½ inch Cinnamon (Dal chini)
- ¼ tablespoon or half piece Nutmeg (Jayphal)
Instructions
- Dry roast all the spices except ginger powder over low heat for 2-3 minutes. Or you can roast the spices till their aroma is released. Turn off the heat. Allow the spices to cool down a bit
- Grind roasted spices to a fine or coarse powder. Use a strong blade dry mixing jar for the purpose
- Combine ginger powder in the chai masala and mix nicely
- Chai masala is ready. Store it in a air tight container for 6 months to 1 year
- Half a teaspoon of chai spice mix is sufficient for making two cups of tea. Or you can increase the quantity of chai masala as per taste preference.
Recipe Notes:
- While roasting the spices make sure not to brown them or roast for too long. Else, they will turn bitter. No need to roast the dry ginger powder.
- Use a strong blade, heavy duty mixer for grinding spices. Please do not use smoothie blenders for grinding whole spices.
- You can store chai masala at room temperature for 6 months to 1 year. Make sure to use a clean and dry spoon to scoop the masala powder.
- Homemade tea masala is strong in taste than the packaged one. So add in tea accordingly.
- Add ½ teaspoon of chai masala. Let the spice powder boil for 10 – 20 seconds to flavour the water.
- Don’t add too much of the tea leaves, it will only make your tea bitter.
- Avoid boiling water for too long after adding tea leaves and sugar. Even for making iced tea, I avoid steeping tea for too long. It makes any kind of tea (hot or cold0 bitter. Another 10 – 20 seconds is enough. Stir once or twice with a spoon.
- Don’t add too much milk – While milk aids in flavouring tea, too much of it makes the drink too thick and milky.
- Allow the tea to simmer over low heat for a few seconds to get the excellent colour and taste.
Seeta says
I love tea! and am sure shocked that you never had it 🙂 So did you try it now with this flavourful masala?
Indrani says
Do you sell? I would love to try this out.
Monu Teena says
Love to have that masala wali chai; lovely post thanks for sharing my dear <3
Tara nair says
Wonderful post Hina. I know Kashmiri Kahwa, just because of my husband 😉 I will try this one too, let me see the difference in taste. Thank you Hina 🙂
Aparna Anurag says
Amazing!!
rupam sarma says
Awesome post, Nice to visit your blog.
Jayalakshmi Siva says
Definitely I wil try this recipe for my hubby. Thanks for sharing
Hina Gujral says
Please let us know how he likes it 🙂
Ramesh Patel says
I often prepare Masala Chai at home with the regular spices that are available. I crush the spices or coarse grind them and then bring them to a boil. I was not aware that Masala Chai had so many health benefits. Thank you for sharing this post and informing readers about the many benefits of Masala Chai.
Hina Gujral says
I am so glad you like it. Agree with you about the health benefits of masala tea.
Bia says
Hi Hina love your boards dear. Just to ask how to have this masala tea? Is it added in regular tea or is it added in simple boiled water and have it? Thank you ????
Hina Gujral says
This is a spice mix added for flavor in milk tea while boiling water. Please read my post all the required information is provided. Hope this helps!
Sharvani vilas patil says
It was worth seeing this link of funfoodfrolic . I got much more info and perfect recipe which I was looking for on YouTube,other links etc and didn’t found.
Hina Gujral says
Thank you so much for your valuable feedback. We tried our best to make this post as informative as possible.
Urvashi says
Hem….i will try. Let’s see what’s the difference ????
Hina Gujral says
I am sure you will like it! it makes tea really aromatic
Ginger says
Too difficult to follow directions,as language seems mixed
Hina Gujral says
Aren’t you able to read the recipe and the details in English?
Suprava says
Thanks a lot
Atharva Sharma says
I just loved the way you tell the recipe of masala chai. I also loved masala chai very much and I mostly prefer MahaChai’s masala chai because they use there own ingredient for more information read here
https://www.mahachai.in/