Chai – the Tasty Indian Tea
Chai – the Tasty Indian Tea
Ayurveda recommends that you have a warm drink with your meal to help with digestion. It should be no more than a cup.
At the end of a meal a cup of lassi (see Lassi – yogurt that is good for you) can promote a good digestion.
The tasty Indian tea or Chai can be taken with the meal or between meals.
How to make chai:
Boil the water and add the tea, spices and milk. Simmer for a few minutes. Strain and serve.
In general, Kapha should use less milk and more water, and less sweetener than Vata and Pitta. To lessen Kapha forming property of milk Ayurveda recommends letting it rise three times when boiling to add Pitta (fire) and then aerating the milk by pouring it back and forth from one pan to another seven times to add Vata (air).
Chai recipes:
Chai #1, serves 4
3 cups water
1 cup milk
4 cloves
2 pinches ground nutmeg
3 pinches ground cardamom
2 pinches ground cinnamon
½ piece of fresh ginger
1 teaspoon black tea ( or dandelion root or lemon grass)
2 teaspoons sweetener of your choice
Cardamom lessens the effect of caffeine in black tea.
Chai #2, serves 6
3 cups water
3 cups milk
1 cinnamon stick
5 cardamom pods
1/8 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1/8 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon (for Pitta and Kapha) and up to 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger (Vata)
Mint Chai, serves 4
3 cups water
1 cup milk
½ teaspoon fresh chopped ginger
3 pinches dry powdered ginger
3 pinches ground cardamom
1 stick cinnamon
2 pinches nutmeg powder
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
½ cup fresh mint leaves (or tablespoon dried mint)
3-4 cloves
TODAY’S TIP: Ayurveda doesn’t recommend ice cold drinks at any time. They are shocking to the system and can kill the digestive fire.
Comments
Chai – the Tasty Indian Tea — No Comments
HTML tags allowed in your comment: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>