Ginger, elaichi and masala: what to add to chai, and when

Ginger goes in at the start with the water. Elaichi goes in at the start, crushed. Everything else goes in late or not at all. Hard spices need the water-boil stage to give anything up; aromatic ones lose their smell if they boil too long. Most good Indian chai has ginger, sometimes elaichi, and nothing else.

The twelve-spice masala chai you find in recipes is largely a cafe and export invention. What actually gets made in Indian kitchens and at stalls is far simpler, and simpler is usually better, because the point of the spice is to sit beside the tea rather than replace it.

What goes in, and when

The rule underneath the table: anything hard and woody goes in early, because it needs heat and time. Anything leafy or volatile goes in late, because boiling drives its aroma off.

Why crushing matters more than quantity

A whole cardamom pod dropped into a pot gives up almost nothing. The oils are in the black seeds inside, and the pod is a sealed container. Crush it so it splits, and one pod does more than five whole ones.

Same with ginger. Sliced ginger gives you a mild warmth; ginger crushed until it is fibrous and wet gives you the heat people actually want from adrak chai. A mortar is better than a knife, and the back of a heavy spoon against a board is better than nothing.

Pepper and cloves want cracking rather than grinding. Ground to powder they turn the chai cloudy and dominate it.

How much is too much?

The test is simple: you should be able to tell it is tea. If the first thing you taste is ginger, or the cup smells of cinnamon before it smells of tea, the spice has stopped seasoning the chai and started being the drink.

Cloves are the usual culprit. One clove per cup is assertive; two is medicinal. Cinnamon is the second, because it is sweet and it lingers.

Should you use ready-made chai masala?

It is convenient and it is worse, for one specific reason: ground spice loses its aromatics fast, and a jar of pre-mixed masala is mostly stale by the time it is half used. What is left is the harsh, woody part of each spice without the perfume that made it worth adding.

If you use one, keep it in a small airtight jar away from the stove and buy small quantities. And crush a bit of fresh ginger in anyway. Ginger is the one thing no powder replicates.

Adrak chai, properly

Since it is what most people actually want:

1. Crush a thumbnail of fresh ginger per cup until it is fibrous. Skin on is fine.
2. Half a cup of water per cup, the ginger, and a heaped teaspoon of Assam CTC.
3. Hard boil for a full minute. The ginger needs this stage; added later it stays raw and sharp.
4. Half a cup of full-fat milk and the sugar. Two to three minutes more.
5. Strain and drink it hot.

If the ginger tastes raw rather than warm, it went in too late. If the chai is bitter, it boiled too long after the milk, which is a different problem.

What not to add

Milk powder. It gives body without flavour and leaves a chalky finish.

Condensed milk, unless you want a dessert. It is sweet enough to hide the tea entirely.

Star anise, in an Indian chai. It is powerful and it pulls the cup somewhere else entirely. If you want it, use a fragment and know that it will lead.