ginger tea recipe with step by step photos – tea is a beverage i make everyday. ginger tea is a very common indian beverage made from tea leaves and fresh ginger. its also called as adrak chai or adrak wali chai in india.
the aroma, flavor and taste of ginger is something we are extremely fond of in our tea. ginger also has a lot of health benefits.
tea is one beverage that is made in all homes in india. sometimes i make the tea with milk. at times, i make tea with cashew or soy milk. i don’t add almond milk as i don’t like the taste of almond milk in tea. with cashew milk, you won’t even come to know that the tea is made in it and not regular milk.
there are a few variations of tea made in india. some spices are added to the tea thus making it a masala chai. you can also use a chai spice blend know as masala chai powder. there is also mint tea or pudina chai and tulsi tea, which is made from fresh mint leaves and tulsi leaves (holy basil) respectively. also, a combination of both ginger and mint can be used while making tea.
nowadays i make tea with ginger, cardamom and lemon grass leaves. this concoction helps to alleviate migraine. a herbal remedy which i learnt after my visit to sahakari spice farm in goa. you can make this herbal tea with or without tea leaves. i make mine with tea leaves. sometimes i also add ground cinnamon, fennel, nutmeg & cloves to this tea… and occasionally some mint or tulsi leaves.
its due to this everyday tea, that no one at home suffers from cold or cough problems even when the winter was at the very peak this year. the stomach as well as the digestive faculty stays good too.
in this post, i share the recipe of a simple homemade ginger tea with cardamom. the amount of ginger can be varied. if you really like to have a strong taste of ginger, then add more ginger. you can serve the ginger tea plain or with indian snacks like aloo pakora, aloo tikki, vegetable cutlet, medu vada or samosa.
ginger tea
Ingredients (1 cup = 250 ml)
- 4 cups water
- 3 to 4 teaspoon black tea leaves
- 2 inch ginger for a strong taste or 1 inch ginger (adrak) for a milder taste, peeled and either crushed or grated.
- 3 to 4 cardamom crushed or powdered in a mortar-pestle (optional)
- ½ to ¾ cup regular milk or cashew milk or soy milk - add more if you want a milky tea
- 8 teaspoon unrefined organic cane sugar or add more for more sweetness
How to Make Recipe
- keep all the ingredients ready for the ginger tea.
- crush or powder 3-4 cardamoms in a mortar-pestle.
making ginger tea
- in a saucepan or kettle, add 4 cups of water, 2 inch ginger grated and the crushed cardamom with the peel.
- boil this water-ginger-cardamom mixture for a good 6-7 minutes, till the color of the water changes to a mild yellowish hue. the ginger releases its juices & flavors in the water and thus the color of the water changes.
- add 8 teaspoon sugar and simmer for a more of 1-2 minutes.
- now add 3-4 teaspoon of tea leaves and simmer for about 1 to 2 minutes till the water gets a deep hue of red.
- simmering makes the tea strong. if you prefer a light version, then just add the tea leaves to the water. cover and allow the tea leaves to steep in the hot spiced water for 3 to 4 minutes.
- add ¼-½ cup of hot milk.
- if adding cold milk, then simmer for a minute or two. if using cashew milk or almond milk, then just stir the cashew milk with ginger tea and remove from pan as otherwise heating further would cause the cashew or almond milk to become slimy and separate.
- strain the ginger tea through a strainer right into the cups.
- serve the hot ginger tea or chai or adrak chai with indian snacks like pakoras or samosas. you could also serve the ginger tea with biscuits or cookies.
how to make ginger tea recipe
1. keep all the ingredients ready for making ginger tea.
2. crush or powder 3-4 cardamoms in a mortar-pestle.
3. in a saucepan or kettle, add 4 cups of water, 2 inch ginger grated and the crushed cardamom with the peel.
4. boil this water-ginger-cardamom mixture for a good 6-7 minutes, till the color of the water changes to a mild yellowish hue. ginger releases its juices & flavors in the water and thus the color of the water changes.
5. add 8 teaspoon sugar and simmer for a more of 1-2 minutes.
6. now add 3-4 teaspoon of tea leaves and simmer for about 1 to 2 minutes till the water gets a deep hue of red.
7. simmering makes the tea strong. if you prefer a light version, then just add the tea leaves to the water. cover and allow the tea leaves to steep in the hot spiced water for 3 to 4 minutes.
8. add ¼ to ½ cup of hot milk. some people like to have more milk and some like less milk in ginger tea. so it varies from person to person.
9. if adding cold milk, then simmer for a minute or two. if using cashew milk or almond milk, then just stir the cashew milk with tea and remove from pan as otherwise heating further would cause the cashew or almond milk to become slimy and separate.
10. strain the ginger tea through a strainer right into the cups.
serve the hot ginger tea or adrak chai with indian snacks like bread pakora, shakkar pare, mathri or samosas. you could also serve the ginger tea with biscuits or cookies.
Dassana you are just amazing! You explain everything so meticulously. I know that i can try any recipe on your blog and it will turn out great! This speaks volumes of the care and effort you take to try out each and every recipe you put up on the blog. Vegrecipesofindia is without a doubt the best blog on Indian cooking on the internet. Thank you for this wonderful encyclopedia on Indian cooking.
thank you shalini for this wonderful comment. i am so glad to read your lovely feedback. thanks again.
Very nice explain how to make tea I like it, thank you very much.
which brand black tea leaves is best?
fathima i use organic assam tea. i have used phalada brand, 24 letter mantra and oothu organic fair trade black tea. all are good. 24 letter mantra brand gives a strong tea, so you just need to simmer for 1 to 2 minutes and not more or else the tea gets bitter tones. oothu black tea is more on the lighter side. you can buy these from amazon.in
Thanks for this tried it and had hubby asking for more
welcome niyathi
Oh, that is divine! I’m sipping some at this very moment. ?
thankyou so much shonda 🙂
thanks……………,
welcome kumar
Thanks for this recipe.
welcome santosh
I like your way of explaining the recipes. I follow a lot of ur recipes in my kitchen.. Thanks a lot for that. This time I stumbled upon ur page bcoz I was looking for the correct way of making ginger tea. I do make it at home sometimes, but I do not get the exact flavor that some other ladies make it. Just wanted to know if the ginger has to be freshly grated or if we can use the grated but stored ginger also. I usually grate the ginger in mixy and store in fridge, so that I can use it during cooking, just to save time.
thanks shravani. i use fresh ginger always. some flavor is lost when anything fresh is stored. i would suggest to use fresh ginger while making tea. what i do is i peel the ginger and then just crush it in a mortar-pestle with cardamom or sometimes with other spices. then add this crushed ginger to water and then boil the water. it does not take time.
Thank you for this (and other) recipes. You explain things very well.
Aapko mere ashirvaad!
welcome annapurna ji and thanks for your blessings and ashirvaad.