So long kitchen table, off to India!

Dear Kitchen Table Friends, I'm off to India this weekend! I won't be bringing my kitchen table with me but perhaps I will find other friends to join at kitchen tables while I am there. I'll be away for a month, studying yoga, drinking from coconuts, and eating Indian foods! I hope to blog for you at least once or twice while I am away. And Allison, I'm going to find us tiffins to bring back for our kitchens!

I thought I'd leave you with a recipe in the spirit of my travels, some homemade chai tea. I'm sipping some right now, and the apartment smells of cinnamon, ginger and cloves. You'll need a well stocked spice rack for this. Whole spices are best, powdered will do in a pinch.

left to right: cinnamon sticks, nutmeg seed, star anise, cardamom pods, whole cloves, ginger root

Homemade Chai Tea

2 cinnamon sticks
4 cloves
2 star anise pods
8 crushed cardamom pods
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
3 1/2 cups water
2 tsp black tea
1 cup milk
honey to taste

Add spices and water to a small pot and bring to a boil. Let simmer for 25 minutes, or longer for a spicier brew. Remove from heat, add black tea and let steep 5 minutes. Meanwhile, bring 1 cup milk just to a boil and remove from heat. Strain tea and spice mixture into a tea pot, add the warm milk, sweeten to taste with honey.

Makes 1 pot of chai tea.

If you would like a peppy chai tea without the caffeine, skip the black tea and instead add a 1/2 tsp of freshly crushed black pepper. That will wake you up!

Recipe inspired by the wonderful Ayurvedic cookbook, Eat, Taste, Heal.

Au revoir!

Cara