Chai (Pratima style)

 

There are many topics I want to write about, like vampires and immigration stories and how the world is very small sometimes. But today I write about food. 

I went to Momma's Grocery + Wine in Cambridge on a whim one night after seeing this post, because I wasn't able to stop thinking about maple soft serve. Maple creemees (as they are often called) are a Vermont staple, and I don't live in Vermont and thus can't judge the quality, but Momma's soft serve is good enough that I will be waiting in line for it again. Probably soon. Recommend. In addition to soft serve, they're a small specialty grocery store. I bought a frozen Vermont pizza, because I overheard people in line discussing them. Easily influenced, I am. 

This weekend I waited in line for Bagelsaurus, also in Cambridge. They had sold out of everything bagels by the time I got in. How early must one show up for everything bagel? The food was good. Will I wait in line again? Maybe. But I don't think it was as life-changing as my soft serve. The bagels must be pretty good though, because I once had a bagel snob friend, and even she approved of Bagelsaurus. They have a very good logo; I am a fan. 

Whenever I have weekday off, I often find myself in Brookline at Clear Flour Bread. Combination of a great bread reputation and a very small indoor space means there's always a line out the door. I waited patiently to buy focaccia (only available Monday-Wednesday), and I made myself few sammiches out of it. It was a beautiful day, and it made me wish I lived in Allston/Brookline within walking distance of the bakery. It made me wish I ate more bread. Maybe I would if I lived there, but I am just one girl and loaves are big. 

I'm famously anti-waiting-in-line, but that reputation might soon fade. Sometimes there's good food on the other side of the line. Are there other places to buy focaccia? Maybe probably, but I don't know them. 

___

I wrote out a recipe today for my good friend, and I don't just want it to live on my phone, so I will post for my other good friends.

___

 

Ingredients: 

Water 
Milk 
Tea leaves – standard loose-leaf black tea, but people like this brand
Cardamom 
Ginger
Sugar

 

Tools:

Pot. 

Spoon, maybe multiple. I don't need to explain spoons, do I? Material depends on your tolerance for microplastics. 

Strainer.

Mugs. 

Grater. Handheld graters or zesters are probably easiest. 

Notes:
For 3 cups chai, about 1 cup milk and 2 cups water. Ratio is flexible; I often use more milk than this. But 2:1 water to milk is a good starting point. 

Tea leaves: ~1 teaspoon per cup of chai (one flat-ish spoonful of a regular plastic spoon; I think that's a teaspoon).

Cardamom: 1 cardamom pod per cup of chai. I break open the pod and put the whole thing in the water. Crushing the cardamom might yield better results (but lazy). Green cardamom, not black. 

Ginger: a little bit?? Cut a thin slice of ginger and grate it. For more cups, use more. Science.

Sugar: I use 1-2 tsp Sugar In The Raw (for one cup chai), but white sugar is not as sweet, so you might need a little more – taste and adjust, my friends.

 

Vanilla/cinnamon/star anise/cloves are all additions you could try and see if you like. I am anti-cinnamon. I am pro-vanilla sometimes. 

I often use saffron (1 strand is enough for multiple cups), but it’s expensive and might not make sense to buy just for this. 

Instructions: 
1. Add water and ginger and cardamom to pot on stove (no milk yet). Use low heat, but you can increase it if you get impatient. 

2. Once you start to see a bunch of small bubbles at the bottom of the pot, add tea leaves (this might depend on your stove, but basically once it’s starting to boil) – stir once or twice.

3. Microwave milk. (45-90 seconds based on amount of milk, 90 seconds is probably good for 1 cup)

4. Once water is bubbling faster (bubbles at the top of the water movin' around), add the warm milk and stir 1-2 times. (You can add sugar now or you can add it to each cup at the end, depends on whether everybody wants the same amount of sweet) 

5. Now we wait until milk boils over – turn off heat to prevent a mess once it starts to rise. (If you have a dumb electric stove like me, you have to move the pot; I assume you know, that but mentioning anyway) 

6. Strain the tea into mugs.

7. Chai time. 

This is the only thing I can make without a recipe, so I promise it's easy. 

 ___

 

I feel like I'm over-explaining simple things, but I don't cook much, so this is the level of detail I need. Everybody makes chai a little differently; even the cardamom and ginger are optional. You'll probably find many many recipes online. This is mine.