Masala Chai

Before I left home for college, I made chai every day. Everyone in my family is an avid masala chai drinker. Among the members of my family, chai has several functions - it is used in a morning ritual, as a medicine, and as an indispensable partner to conversation. I presented Grivetti's article on chocolate during class, whose purpose was to show that social conception of chocolate transcends its worth as a food. While I studied the article, I felt distinctly aware that the same could be said about chai in Indian culture. Chai is ingrained in the traditions of my family, so many of the facts on chai in India that I reference come from an interview that I had with my parents, who lived in India until they were married.

The word chai in Hindi directly translates to the English word tea. In practice, however, when a Hindi speaker or an English speaker mention chai, they are referring to chai as it is most commonly prepared in India - as masala chai. The word masala in Hindi is a general word for a blend of spices. There is significant regional variation in India regarding the preparation of chai. In my family, chai is made with a water base, to which milk, sugar, and a blend of spices is added including black pepper, cloves, green cardamom, and ginger root. In some regions of India, chai is brewed in milk. The blend of spices is subject to change in various regions of India, but ginger and black pepper are common among most of them.

When prepared with a milk base, the nutritional value of chai is largely the same as the nutritional value of milk, only with the addition of caffeine. Otherwise, when chai is prepared with a water base, it does not have significant nutritional value. However, my father notes that chai is used as an Ayurvedic treatment, or a lesser remedy to treat several problems (some swear by the laxative effect of masala chai).

Chai is popular in the US, as it is sold under the name "chai tea latte" in several tea and coffee shops around the nation, particularly at Starbucks. To some, the branding and sale of a standardized chai in the US is troubling, as the flavor of chai significantly varies in different parts of India; the chai available at Starbucks tastes very different from the chai that I am familiar with.

I prepare chai on a stovetop in a large tin bowl (pictures below). I fill the bowl with water, and add all of the spices. In my household we drink chai made from "tea dust", loose crushed tea leaves. Connoisseurs of chai tend to favor small undamaged leaves. The tea leaves are added to the bowl and left to steep over heat for about two minutes - the contents of the bowl are kept at a light boil. The sugar and milk are then added to the bowl and kept on heat until the chai boils again. Quality chai is well spiced, and it has a thick consistency due to the milk. The chai is ready to be served when the leaves and spices are strained out.

In India, chai is very widely available. In parts of India, chai is sold on roadsides and in train stations by "chaiwallahs" (chai people - people who sell chai) (*). Chai is commonly drank in India several times a day, and it has afforded itself an important place Indian culture. Chai is nearly synonymous with socialization. It is common to offer a cup of chai to a guest.

In India, some say that chai is a unifying drink - chai is so popular that a chaiwallah will sell to Indians in all walks of life, and chaiwallahs are present in India's massive urban sprawls and its rural deserts (*). The chai stand is considered a place for all to have conversation, and in this sense, chai is a thread that binds all of India together

Sources:

Personal Experience

Parents

Chaiwallahsofindia.com (*)