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masala tea powder recipe | homemade indian chai masala powder recipe

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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.

4.5 from 8 votes
masala tea powder
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masala tea powder recipe | homemade indian chai masala powder recipe
prep time
15 mins
 

masala tea powder recipe - aromatic chai masala with spices and lemon grass. 

course: breakfasts, condiment
cuisine: indian
servings: 1 medium small bottle
author: dassana amit
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 recipe
  1. first grind the dry ginger.

  2. now grind the nutmeg.

  3. finally grind all the rest of the spices and herbs with the already ground ginger and nutmeg.

  4. store in an air-tight jar. 

  5. use the chai masala, whenever you make an indian chai. 

  6. 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

how to make basic chai masala:

ingredients:

  • 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)

instructions:

  1. first grind the dry ginger.
  2. now grind the nutmeg and cardamom.
  3. store the simple and basic chai masala in an air-tight container. 


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.

dry-lemon-grass

2. below you can see all the spices you will need… are you sure, its all the spices or one important spice is missing?

masala-tea-spices

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.

dry-ginger

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?

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.

grated-nutmeg

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.

adding-rest-of-the-spices

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…

dry-masala-tea

8. store the dry chai masala powder in an airtight container.

dry-chai-masala

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.

masala-chai

have a healthy start to your days.




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Reader Interactions

{ 62 Responses }

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. 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

  8. 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.

  9. 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.

  10. Thank you for such an awesome refreshing masala chai powder recipe! Your recipes are great .

  11. Thank you for such an awesome rejuvenating masala chai powder recipe!
    My concern however was , once made, how long will it stay in an airtight Tupperware container ?
    And if you could suggest the best way to preserve this powder ensuring the aroma remains intact for as long as possible..?

    • welcome sneha. in an air-tight container, this powder can stay for about six months. what i would suggest is take a small portion for your weekly or fortnight tea requirements. and the rest of the masala, you can store in an air tight box in the fridge. this way the aroma remains intact for a longer period.

  12. I tried this one and it tastes absolutely divine… I drink it as a herbal drink without any tea powder, milk or sugar:)

  13. Love the recipe !
    I however use fresh lemon grass for daily cup of tea , now I think I can make the masala too

  14. Hi, once again thank you for your recipes.
    I can’t seem to find dry ginger… how can i make it myself? Do I put it in the oven or do i just leave it out to dry? …. How long does the process take? The blue hue looks like its mold 😛

    Thanks and greetings from Colombia

    • welcome ale. generally the ginger is dried in the sun. i don’t know drying in the oven will take how long. the blue hue is not mold. skip adding ginger powder. when you make the tea that time you add crushed or grated ginger and the chai masala.

  15. Love this recipe! Have just made my second batch. First one was a superhit and everyone in my family loved it. Thanks a ton for this 🙂

  16. Hi Dassana I only get fresh lemongrass here in SG. Could you tell me a way to dry them? Sun drying is out of the question, unfortunately. Can I use the oven?

    • yes you can use the oven. in fact here too sometimes there is no light. so i use the oven for drying. just keep the oven to the minimum temperature. 50 degrees celsius/122 fahrenheit is fine since these are grasses. spread them evenly on a baking tray and keep them in the oven for some hours.

  17. I’m curious why you use fennel instead of star anise? I’ve never heard of using fennel. Also do you use a teabag/strainer to strain the blend or just let the grounds sink to the bottom as you brew it. Thanks for all the great recipes!

    • i often add fennel even in my everyday tea. its good for digestion and also gives a good flavor. in india, we don’t use star anise in tea, whether its making the everyday tea or even in the chai masala. i don’t use a tea bag. i add tea leaves to the simmering water and let it simmer on low for a minute. then add milk to the tea and then strain the tea.

  19. nice recipe….but i have doubt for one thing. i have never used lemon grass in my tea and as well as milk. i like black tea and i use all above ingredients. So my doubt is abt lemon grass that it may curdle the milk, isnt it?

    • i use fresh lemon grass everyday in our morning tea. i have used dried ones too. let me tell you that the milk does not curdle. try adding one or two blades of lemon grass, chopped into a tea brewing for about 4 people. even without milk, the tea taste damn good when lemon grass is added.

  20. Hi, I have always wanted to know the perfect recipe for masala chai ever since I have tasted it coz I love it! I have searched through various websites for recipes and tried quite a number but they just didn’t taste right. I am glad I found this recipe here now and just having masala chai with the above ground masala powder. It tastes really nice and is the best of what I have tried making so far. Thanks a lot for this great recipe!

    • thanks nazia. i used to think why i never used to get any feedback on this masala chai powder. glad to know that you found this one as the best.

  21. Excellent recipe; the key is to grind the ingredients as shown here. You do not get the same results by mixing bottled ground powders! One thing I found interesting is to add a pinch of saffron occasionally. Really cannot describe the feeling but its very pleasing. Living alone, I use Chai Gold packets. Add hot water and the above five star masala, a pinch of saffron and enjoy with bites of puri or chiveda, upma etc. Yummy…Thanks for this great web based illustration my mom would have loved to see! Oh, don’t buy Masala Tea bags from the stores. They are pretty much useless, in my view. This is the only way to make real masala tea.

    • i agree ready chai masala mixes do not have the same results. the same goes for the masala tea bags. making masala chai powder at home is the best way to have masala chai. but in the absence of masala chai powder, whole spices can also be substituted. thanks.

    • thanks. if i mention the medicinal benefits, it would become a long post. hence not added the medicinal benefits. may be in some other post, i may add these points.

  23. Hi,

    Thank you for the great recipe. My mom makes excellent tea masala but when i ask for the recipe, it’s hard for her to explain the measurements and not all the ingredients are easily available in USA. So I’ve been looking for a recipe and couldn’t find one until today when I accidentally ran upon it.

    One question, why do you add fennel seeds? I never heard of anyone adding fennel seeds to tea masala. I’m sure it adds a very unique flavor.

    • thanks pinal. fennel seeds or saunf really add a sweet exotic flavor to the tea. some people do add whole fennel when making masala chai.

      as you already must be knowing fennel is good for digestion and also an antioxidant. i add the fennel in chai and the chai masala for the flavor, aroma and the health benefits.

  24. sir
    some bengali chai wala people are making lemon tea with masala the taste is salty and spicy and very good can u tell me how to make this tea.

    • i have never heard about this one. i will have to find out and then may be i can share the recipe.

  25. Good evening Sir,
    Oh! god really reallly its so pungent to my heart your recipes are mind blasting supperb! pls send more more because Ye dil mange more! na

  26. I love the spices you have used to make both the basic and masala tea. I always thought jaiphal is used only in coffee. I shall try this combination for sure. Love the pictures!

  27. I have never heard of putting lemongrass or holy basil in masala chai, but I probably would like it. I make chai with fresh milk, water and a mixture of whole and ground spices: whole cloves, half a cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, grated fresh ginger, grated nutmeg and sometimes pepper or vanilla bean, plus brown sugar. When it is almost boiling I throw black Ceylon tea leaves on top, turn off the heat and let it steep for awhile. I especially like it on cold mornings.

    • sharyn, we at home make tea many times with fresh tulsi leaves. unfortunately, i do not have a tulsi plant growing in the house which we live now. in fact, tulsi is grown in every hindu house in india as it considered to be holy and sacred. its excellent for cold and has many other healing properties. do try making chai with tulsi and lemon grass and let me know how was it.

      i make tea with with the same spices that you have mentioned, except for vanilla beans and pepper. but i do add fennel seeds and fresh mint leaves sometimes. i should try making tea with vanilla beans. i am sure it will be exotic.

    • thanks radhika… the inspiration comes from an organic blend of chai masala, i had got a year back in bangalore.

      it had almost all the ingredients that i have added, plus some ayurvedic herbs like mulethi, ashwagandha, brahmi, arjuna bark.