At the back of the Indian mud house -looking store, he built
a kitchen to be used as a café, which he never had an opportunity to do so. His
friend, who also came from India to Japan for a business opportunity, visited us every single morning at the "café",
and my owner made chai every single morning for us. The café had no windows. It was a
small and dark mud cave with a bit of light. Three of us sat at the bar, had a
cup of chai. They talked to me about their hometown, Japan, their family, etc...
Six years later I travelled to India for 6
months, and started my day with a cup of chai every single morning.
Chai and India mean something to me!
Here is the recipe that I got from the owner. The key is to
add some water (some people make chai with milk alone), condensed milk and to put a lot of sugar. Don’t rush, "pull" the chai many times to put aerate it.
Ready in: 20 minutes
Ingredients for four cups:
1 tablespoon of unperfumed loose black tea (no earl grey, just pure black tea)
2 cups of water
2 cups of condensed milk (if you use normal milk, the taste won’t
be the same.)
2 or more tablespoons of sugar
1 cinnamon stick
Some ginger, sliced or ground
Some whole black peppercorns
Some clove
Step 1: In a pan, put water and tea and boil it.
Step 2: Add spices and sugar into it, and keep boiling for 5
minutes.
Step 3: Add condensed milk and lower the stove heat. Start
pulling the chai in the air using a small cup. Scoop chai in the cup, and pour
it down to the pan. Try to repeat this many times for 10 or more minutes.
Step 4: When you are tired of doing it, it’s ready!
