Adrakwali Chai / Indian Style Ginger Tea

It is not an exaggeration to say that the daily routine in every Indian household starts with boiling a pot of milk. Coffee / tea preparation is the first ritual in every home, every morning and they are prepared with a good dose of milk. Pasteurized milk is not a commonly available ingredient in India and so, the milk gets boiled properly before consumption. You see, everyone including any guests present expect their morning dose of coffee / tea while the kids are fed milk/ sugar-chocolate laden energy drinks. This all happens before serving the breakfast and so, there may be a round 2 coffee / tea session for adults after the breakfast, if time permits. And of course, there is the evening tea / coffee that is served around 4 or 5 pm along with light snacks.  
Coffee was once considered a south Indian drink while tea or chai as it is called in Hindi was associated with North Indians. Now both drinks are extensively consumed all over India and as as I mentioned above, both are milk based beverages. Indians expect a good quality tea / coffee and by default mostly use full fat milk, in portion for the preparation. Again tea preparation is subjective to one's taste preferences. The strength of the brew decides whether the tea is strong / kadak or light / feeki. One may stick to the basic version or may prefer to flavor it with spices / herbs. Tea can be made using milk alone, using milk and water in equal proportions or with more water ratio than milk. I usually go with milk and water in equal proportions whereas my husband uses more water and prefers fatfree milk. 
 
The basic tea preparation starts with boiling water. An extra amount of liquid need to be added than the final quantity of tea expected since some of the liquid gets evaporated during the tea making process. Black tea leaves / granules are then added to boiling water and allowed to simmer for few minutes before the addition of milk and sugar, the common sweetener used. The whole mixture is boiled some more time for the flavors to build up. The brew is then passed through a strainer and served piping hot. And of course plenty of variations can be created by adding herbs and spices while preparing the brew. Today's version is one such variation, that is based on fresh ginger root which is quite popular and a flavorful one. Besides, the ginger adds a healthy punch.

Ingredients for 1 serving:
3/4 cup water
1 tsp. peeled & grated / crushed fresh ginger
1.5 to 2 tsp. black tea granules (I used Brook Bond Red Label one.)
1/2 to 3/4 cup full fat milk
Sugar / Artificial sweetener to taste

Method:
* Add water and ginger to a sauce pan and bring it to a boil.
* Add tea leaves / granules and continue to boil for about 3 -4 minutes more.
* Next add milk and sugar and continue boiling the mixture until it starts to boil over.
* Pass it through a sieve and serve immediately.


 
Check here to see what other marathoners are cooking for BM #61.

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