This Indian Ginger Tea recipe or Adrak Chai is a warming, spiced and fragrant hot beverage made with black tea, fresh ginger roots, crushed cardamom, sugar and milk (optional).

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 1 minutes
  • Cook time: 14 minutes
  • Total time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 4 · 4 cups
  • Category: Beverages
  • Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

  • 4 cups water
  • 3 to 4 teaspoon black tea powder (or leaves)
  • 2 inch ginger for a strong taste (or 1 inch ginger for a milder taste, peeled and either crushed or grated.)
  • 3 to 4 green cardamoms (crushed or powdered in a mortar-pestle (optional))
  • ¼ to ½ cup milk (or cashew milk or soy milk - add more if you want a milky tea)
  • 8 teaspoon raw sugar (or unrefined organic cane sugar, add more for more sweetness)

Method

Preparation

  1. Rinse, peel and crush the ginger roots in a mortar pestle. You can also grate them if you want.
  2. Crush or powder 3 to 4 green cardamoms in a mortar-pestle.

Making ginger tea

  1. In a saucepan or kettle, add 4 cups of water, 2 inch ginger grated and the crushed green cardamoms with their peels.
  2. Boil this water-ginger-cardamom mixture for a good 4 to 5 minutes, till the color of the water changes to a mild yellowish hue. The ginger releases its juices and flavors in the water and thus the color of the water changes.
  3. Add 8 teaspoon sugar or as desired. Simmer for a more of 1 to 2 minutes.
  4. Now add 3 to 4 teaspoon of tea powder and simmer for about 1 to 2 minutes till the water gets a deep hue of red. To make your tea stronger simmer for about 3 minutes or as desired.
  5. Simmering makes the tea strong. If you prefer a light version, then just add the tea leaves to the water. Switch off the heat. Cover and allow the tea leaves to steep in the hot spiced water for 3 to 4 minutes.
  6. Add ¼ to ½ cup of milk.
  7. Simmer for a minute or two.
  8. Strain the tea through a strainer right into the cups.
  9. Serve the hot ginger tea with indian snacks like pakoras, cutlet or samosas. You could also serve the tea with biscuits or cookies.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.