method to make masala tea powder or indian chai masala powder. indian chai or tea is a common beverage for us. we start our day with a blend of ginger-mint tea or ginger-cardamom tea. sometimes to make the chai more spiced, i do add cinnamon, cloves and fennel seeds. i love herbal tea and the indian masala chai is an all time loved beverage.
if you make the masala tea powder, then you don’t have to add any spices to the tea while making it, unless you want a strong hint and taste of a particular spice. its best to make your own chai masala. you can add the ingredients you want. also the chai masala or for that matter any masala you make at home is much more fragrant and strong than the ready made masala powders.
we got a good measure of dry lemon grass at the market recently. i love lemon grass tea. knowing the health benefits of lemongrass, i decided to add it to the masala chai powder.
i will share with you both the basic tea masala (in the notes section of the recipe card below) and the this lemon grass version which i made. there is no perfect masala chai recipe. in india the masala chai varies from home to home. also the spices and herbs you add can be your favorites or you can add it for a particular health benefit…. eg lemon grass helps in detoxification or rose petals are a natural coolant. depending on your health conditions and what benefit you want to derive, you can add the desired herbs or spices.
the spices added to the masala chai have a lot of health benefits and the masala chai is one ayurvedic drink you can have during the day.
i did not have dry tulsi/holy basil and dry rose petals. if you can manage to get these, then do add do the masala chai powder. also if you can get lemon grass, then nothing like it.
you will also need dry ginger/saunth or dry ginger powder. this is easily available in india, but not sure about other countries. the rest of the spices are easily available everywhere.
masala tea powder recipe
ingredients (1 cup = 250 ml)
- 4 to 5 pieces of dry ginger (saunth) or ½ cup dry ginger powder
- 1.5 whole nutmeg (jaiphal)
- 10 grams small cardamom (choti elaichi or green cardamoms) or 2 tablespoons green cardamoms
- 7 to 8 long cinnamon sticks
- 5 grams cloves (laung) or about 1 to 1.25 tablespoons
- 3 tablespoons fennel seeds (saunf)
- 1 teaspoon whole black pepper, optional
- ¾ cup chopped lemon grass, optional
- ½ cup dry rose petals, optional
- ½ cup dry holy basil (dry tulsi leaves), optional
how to make masala tea powder recipe
- first grind the dry ginger.
now grind the nutmeg.
finally grind all the rest of the spices and herbs with the already ground ginger and nutmeg.
store in an air-tight jar.
use the chai masala, whenever you make an indian chai.
around ¼ teaspoon chai masala is perfect for 2 cups of indian masala chai. though you can add ½ teaspoon for a more spiced chai.
recipe notes
- 7 to 8 pieces of dry ginger or about ½ to ⅔ cup dry ginger powder
- 2 to 3 whole nutmeg (jaiphal)
- 20 grams green cardamoms (choti elaichi)
- first grind the dry ginger.
- now grind the nutmeg and cardamom.
- store the simple and basic chai masala in an air-tight container.
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more how to recipes –
1. how to make curd
2. how to make paneer
3. biryani pulao masala
4. how to make garam masala
5. how to make butter at home
6. how to make sambar powder
7. how to make pav bhaji masala powder
lets begin how to make masala tea powder:
1. cut the lemon grass with the kitchen scissor to small or medium sized pieces.
2. below you can see all the spices you will need… are you sure, its all the spices or one important spice is missing?
3. dry ginger is very hard. so you do need a strong dry grinder or a coffee grinder to grind the dry ginger. grind the dry ginger first. or else use dry ginger powder, if you don’t want to take the trouble of grinding it.
4. so whats missing from the spices…. can you guess it? … its an important spice essentially used in chai masala and it is………. nutmeg. grate the nutmeg directly into the powdered ginger… ain’t i stupid? why i am grating the nutmeg?
5. why don’t i add it to the ginger powder and grind it. if the strong and hard dry ginger can be ground, than the not so strong nutmeg can also be ground.
6. these two, that is the dry ginger and nutmeg should be ground first. later add the other spices including the lemon grass to the already ground nutmeg and ginger.
7. grind all of them to a powder. a little coarsness will do. you don’t have to get a very fine powder. when you open the lid, you will get such a strong fragrance of the indian tea spice blend… enjoy it…
8. store the dry chai masala powder in an airtight container.
9. while making the indian chai, add around ¼ tsp of the chai spice mix blend to black tea with milk for 2 cups of tea.
have a healthy start to your days.
Hello mam….I’m in love with all ur recipes.. I have one query for the masala powder.. do I have to add the whole pod of the cardamom or just the black seeds of the cardamom?
you can do either. usually i add the entire cardamom pod. the husk also has a lot of flavor in it.
Hi Dassana
I made it I don’t have lemongrass, basil and rose petals
Still turned out good Loved it
I don’t know what to say but I put 2 pinches of it in tadka of whole moong usual It gave very nice aroma and flavor to the dish
I know this masala powder is not meant for curries
Just wanted to share the experience ! 😊
Thank u!
thanks rams for the feedback as well as sharing your experience. without the aromatic herbs like lemongrass, basil and rose petals, the ground spices can be used in food. its like a variation of garam masala powder and i am sure it will be good. thanks again.
Hi Dassana,
As I was going through the reviews, I read that you make black tea with this masala powder. Can you please guide me how do you make it. I am turning vegan so no milk.
thats good mansi. all the best. for 1 cup of black tea, just add about 1/8th teaspoon (roughly 3 pinches) of teaspoon masala powder to 1 cup water and then boil water for a couple of minutes. add sugar. then add tea or tea bags. if using tea powder then boil for a minute or two. if using tea bags or tea leaves, then switch off flame and let the tea bags or tea leaves steep for 4 to 5 minutes. strain and then have tea.
I made it today and it tastes amazing, I added the black pepper because I like it a little bit spicier, and it was perfect. Thank you so much!
thanks laura for sharing your feedback. black pepper can easily be added. i knew of one acquaintance who would add crushed black pepper while making tea due to medical reasons.
Its really good. Now everyday v drink masala tea. Thanks fr th recipe.
thanks supreeta for this feedback. most welcome.
Than you for excellent masala tea recipe. I skipped the lemon grass, rose petals and basil and added twice as much cardamon, but the tase is still absolutely amazing. Is it necessary to boil the masala tea powder? Or could I just leave it to infuse in hot water with tea leaves for 5 minutes and then add the milk?
thanks romana. its not necessary to boil. just a simmering is also fine. generally i boil for a couple of minutes, but even infusing the masala in hot water works well. i have tried this way too.
Another thing i want to ask u is that if i skip basil, lemon grass and dried rose petals as they are not available with me. Will skipping these ingredients make a difference
some flavors and aroma will not be there, but still you can make the chai masala.
Do we have to roast the spices or simply grind them as it is?
roasting is not needed here. just grind them directly.
Thank u for solving my query.
welcome subha.
welcome subha 🙂
Hi Dassana, I am so happy to see this recipe for masala chai powder. It never occurred to me that it could be prepared at home too. Thanks! I have nutmeg powder. How much of it should I add for the basic tea masala with 3/4 cup of saunf? Also how many pods of elaichi?
thanks ritu. for the basic tea, you will need to add 2 to 3 tablespoons of nutmeg powder. don’t use 3/4 cup of saunf. it will become too much. 2 tablespoons should be fine. and elaichi will be 3 tablespoons.
Thanks for publishing Masala Chai mixture but no where you provided proportions of Tea powder and other ingradients
Could you please let me know for 500 gram tea powder
Cardomum?
Cloves?
Black pepper?
Cinnomon?
Ginger?
Nutmeg?
Long pepper?
the proportions are mentioned once the post ends in a recipe card format. very difficult to give the proportions and i always try and then add the recipes.