Masala Chai Recipe (Indian Masala Tea)
Updated: September 16, 2023, By Swasthi
Masala Chai also known as Masala Tea is India’s most popular drink and is loved by everyone. Imagine the flavors of brewing – sweet, spicy, hot and aromatic spices with sugar, milk and tea… Amazing Right? This Indian Masala Chai is just that – amazingly flavorsome, delicious and totally relaxing.
A hot cup of Masala Chai is an amazing way to soothe your senses and refresh your mind. In this post I share the method to make a perfect cup of Indian Masala Chai at home!! (from scratch).
A lot of Indians love to sip their Masala Chai all-round the year along with their breakfast and evening snack. Some limit it to monsoons & cold winters because it keeps the body warm and helps break up the blocked sinus.
Many different kinds of tea are made across the world and each one has its own properties so they have different health benefits.
About Masala Chai
Masala Chai is an Indian beverage made by brewing black tea with fragrant spices, sugar and milk. In Hindi the word “Masala” means “spices” and “Chai” means “Tea”.
So Masala Chai also known as CHAI TEA by the non-natives, is Indian milk tea brewed with aromatic spices. There are also versions where aromatic herbs like mint (pudina) and Tulsi (holy basil) are added to it.
Chai is usually served with biscuits, rusk, Onion Pakora, Samosa and Sandwiches.
Every Indian family may have their own recipe to make Masala Tea. The combination of spices, the quantity of milk, water and the kind of tea to use – is a personal choice & this is what decides the strength, flavor and taste of your Masala Chai.
In this post I share the way I make at home & it closely matches the flavors of masala chai available in good Standard Indian restaurants. It can be made in so many flavors all to suit your liking. So you can also easily customize this recipe to your taste.
There are 2 basic ways a Masala Chai is made. I have shared both the ways here in this post. The first method is to make it instantly with just 3 to 4 basic spices. They are crushed and then simmered with tea & water. Later you just add milk and simmer further. We don’t need any other tea masala for this.
The second one is great if you wish to enjoy Masala Chai regularly or often. To make this, whole spices are ground in a spice grinder and stored. Making your cup of Masala Chai is super easy with this, add it to your everyday milk tea and simmer for some time so flavors of masala are infused.
Masala Chai Vs Chai Latte
Is Masala Chai same as Chai Latte? A lot of people think both are same! But actually Masala Chai (Tea) and Chai Latte are not the same.
Masala Chai has a tea decoction and milk simmered together so the milk is fully infused with the flavors of chai and spices. But Chai Latte is made by simply pouring the chai/tea decoction to a serving cup and then topped with frothy milk.
Both taste & smell very different even though they are made from the same chai decoction. Masala Chai has a stronger karak/kadak flavor due the simmering of milk with decoction, while Chai Latte tastes lighter with a milky aroma because it is simply milk flavored with chai decoction.
Lastly the ratio of milk in both these is different.
More Indian beverages
Adrak Chai (Ginger Milk Tea)
Irani Chai
Turmeric Tea
Ginger Tea
Turmeric Milk
Lassi Recipe
Mango Lassi
How to choose your Black Tea
Traditionally masala chai is made with loose tea leaves but now most people use processed black tea which is in granular or powder form. There are basically 2 different kinds of processed tea in the market – CTC and Tea dust.
CTC tea is produced by processing tea leaves through cylindrical rollers to Crush, Tear and Curl them, the resulting processed tea is in a granular or pellet form. This CTC tea imparts bolder and robost flavors to your masala chai along with a deep brown color.
Tea dust is another kind of processed tea which is finer and is almost in powder form. Apart from these you can also make masala tea with black tea bags which contains the same tea dust.
In India tea is grown largely in 3 regions and each is named after the region – Assam tea, Darjeeling tea and Nilgiri tea. Each of these have a different flavour, strength and taste due to the soil profile, weather and region.
In South India, Nilgiri tea is more commonly used and everywhere else it is the Assam tea that is more popular. Again it is a personal choice and you need to try out a few until you find something that you really love.
Types of Tea
Assam tea is loved for its deep color and strong flavour. If you love strong tea known as kadak chai, this may be the one for you. Darjeeling tea is well known for fruity flavour. Nilgiri tea has a fruity flavour of the Darjeeling tea and strong bold flavors like Assam tea.
Nilgiri tea won’t leave any astringent taste even if it is brewed for longer as they contain very little tannins. So it is suitable to those who like to make strong chai by simmering the tea with spices and milk for longer.
In a lot of places in South India, you will find tea being simmered for too long to get that full-bodied strong tea. It tastes really so good with just a little amount of milk in it. So if you prefer simmering your tea for longer then go with Nilgiri.
If you don’t live in India, then use any strong black tea you like.
Choosing other ingredients
Spices – The basic and most common spices used in masala tea are green cardamoms, cloves and cinnamon. The other optional spices are black pepper, ginger, fennel seeds, nutmeg and star anise. Each spice has its own health benefits. To know more scroll down to read my pro tips section.
Milk – The quantity of milk to add depends on your personal taste and the kind of milk used. Too much milk in your tea can completely alter the taste of your tea and can cause acidity.
Masala chai with too little milk will also not taste good and will be watery. An ideal ratio of water to milk can range from 1:1 to 3:1 depending on the kind of milk – homogenized, non-homogenized, toned and raw milk . In India a lot of people use raw water buffalo milk which is thicker than the regular cow milk so 3:1 is the common ratio.
I have provided more details in the notes section of the recipe card.
Sweetener – Traditionally unrefined sweetener known as jaggery is used. It is a personal choice and we love ours with cane sugar. You can also have it with any other sweetener of your choice. If using jaggery, coconut sugar or palm jaggery add them once you turn off the heat.
Photo Guide
How to Make Masala Chai (Stepwise photos)
Method 1 – Make Black Tea
Crush the Spices
1. To make instant masala chai, add the following whole spices (masala) to a small mortar pestle or spice grinder.
- 2 to 3 cloves (2 for milder flavor)
- ½ to ¾ cinnamon (Cassia or Ceylon)
- 4 green cardamoms
- 2 pepper corn (optional, or a pinch of ground pepper)
2. Crush them fine (or slightly coarse is okay) to bring out the flavors.
Make Masala Tea
3. Heat 1½ cups water in a sauce pot. Add
- Masala chai powder we just made above
- ½ teaspoon ginger (optional, ½ inch peeled & chopped or grated)
- 2½ to 3 teaspoons CTC loose leaf black Tea or 1¼ to 1½ teaspoon powder (dust), depending on the brand. You can use more or less depending on the kind of tea you are using. Or You can also use 3 to 4 tea bags. (Start with lower tea and if required add more after adding milk)
4. Bring this to a rolling boil on a medium high flame & turn down to medium or low. Let the decoction boil for 2 to 3 mins.
5. Add sugar at this stage. I use 3 to 4 teaspoons. You can use as little or as much as you prefer. Pour 1 cup full fat milk to the simmering black tea. Adjust the quantity of milk as needed. Adding milk before boiling the ginger well will more likely curdle the milk. So ensure you add the milk only after boiling the ginger well with black tea.
If using tea bags, remove them from the pot and keep aside. Boiling the tea bags too long will leave a bitter taste. If your tea isn’t strong enough, you may add more tea bags.
6. Bring the tea to a rolling boil and simmer on a medium heat until the tea turns dark, for 2 mins. Simmering helps the tea to thicken. I usually simmer until it reduces to 1¾ cups. Fresh holy basil (tulsi) or mint leaves can also be used for variations. You can taste test and add more milk if you prefer. But simmer again for a little longer so the tea doesn’t have the milk flavor.
Aerate Masala Chai (optional)
7. As the chai boils, you will see a layer of cream on top. Turn off the heat. Pulled masala chai tastes best as the milk fats are dispersed during the process & you get the same taste as from a chaiwallah. Using a soup ladle pull or aerate the tea a few times.
If you do not have a soup ladle, simply pour some of the hot tea to a measuring cup (that has a handle) and pour that back to the chai pot in a slow stream, from a height of about 1 to 1½ feet. This should break down the layer of milk cream and create some froth. Repeat this steps of pulling tea from the pot to the measuring cup a few times (4 to 5 times) until all of the cream is broken down and incorporated back into the masala chai.
8. Lastly Strain/ filter masala chai tea to serving cups.
Serve Masala Chai hot or warm with biscuits.
Method 2 – Make Chai Masala Powder
1. This is the second method. If you drink masala tea regularly, you can make the masala chai powder in little larger quantity and store it in a glass jar. For quantities refer the recipe card below.
2. This will give you about 3 tsps powder.
3. To make masala tea, fresh ginger, tea powder or tea leaves, and ground spices are simmered in water to infuse the flavors. You can use the same quantities of water and milk mentioned in the recipe card.
Serve masala chai hot or warm.
Faqs
Masala chai is made with black tea, spices, sugar and milk. It is basically black tea simmered with spices, sugar and milk. Various spices like cloves, cinnamon, cardamoms, nutmeg, black pepper and ginger are used.
Chai is a generic term meaning ‘tea’ in Hindi, while masala chai means ‘spiced tea’. Masala means ‘spices’ and chai means ‘tea’.
Yes a lot of Indians drink masala tea every day, round the year. But it depends on where you live and your body constitution. If you live in a hot and humid weather, reduce the warming spices like cloves and black pepper and increase the quantity of green cardamoms. Limit your consumption to 1 to 2 cups a day.
You have used too much water or too little milk. The right ratio of water to milk is very crucial to make a good chai. For best results, you will need anywhere from 1:1 to 3:1 ratios (W: M) depending on the kind of milk.
Full fat Homogenized, toned & raw cow milk work with 3:1 ratio while low fat and non-homogenized cow milk (pasteurized, pre-boiled) work with 1:1 ratio. However do experiment a few times to arrive at what works well for you.
Using a lot of tea leaves or powder can make your tea bitter. The amount of tea to use again depends on the brand of tea and kind of milk you use. Try reducing the quantity of tea next time or add more milk and simmer for a while to cut down the bitterness.
Most masala tea recipes use fresh ginger. If you use fresh ginger, always boil it first along with black tea, until the decoction reaches a boiling point. Add the milk only after that. Adding milk early before the ginger boils can curdle the milk due to ginger protease enzyme known as zingibain. Boiling the ginger to a boiling point will destroy this enzyme so your tea won’t curdle.
Related Recipes
Recipe Card
Masala Chai Recipe first published in September 2014. Updated & Republished in May 2023.
Masala Chai Recipe (Indian Masala Tea)
For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card
Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )
Method 1 – Instant masala chai powder
- 4 green cardamoms (elaichi)
- 2 cloves (3 for stronger flavor)
- ½ to ¾ inch cinnamon piece (cassia or Ceylon)
- 2 pepper corn (or a pinch of ground pepper, optional)
To make Tea
- 1½ cups water
- 1 cup full fat milk (adjust to taste, Refer notes)
- 2½ to 3 teaspoons black tea leaves or 1¼ to 1½ teaspoon tea powder (dust) (or 3 to 4 tea bags, Refer notes)
- 2 to 3 teaspoons sugar or as needed
- ½ teaspoon (½ inch) ginger chopped or crushed (optional)
Method 2 – Makes 3 tsp masala chai powder
- 1 teaspoon green cardamoms (5 grams skinned) (elaichi)
- ½ teaspoon cloves (2 grams)
- 2½ to 3 grams cinnamon (cassia or Ceylon)
- ¼ teaspoon fennel seeds (1½ grams) (saunf)
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon black pepper corn (½ tsp ground pepper)
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg grated or ⅓ of large nutmeg
- 2 petals star flower (star anise) (chakri phool)
Instructions
How to make Masala Chai (Method 1)
- Add cloves, cardamom, cinnamon stick & black pepper to a mortar pestle or a spice grinder. Crush or grind them to a powder.
- Heat water in a pot. Add the ground spices, crushed/chopped ginger and tea. (Start with lower amount of tea and if required you may add more after adding milk)
- Bring this to a rolling boil and reduce the heat to medium. Boil for 3 mins until the decoction turns dark.
- Pour milk and add sugar. Bring it to a boil on a medium high heat. (If using tea bags remove them at this stage and keep aside.)
- Reduce the heat and simmer until the chai (tea) becomes dark, for about 2 mins.
- When the masala tea is ready, you will see a layer of cream on top and also the milk flavor is gone.
- Optionally aerate or pull your masala chai for the same Chaiwallah taste. Take a soup ladle and aerate the masala chai or simply pour some chai to a measuring cup. Pour the hot tea in a slow stream, back to the chai pot from a height of 1 to 1½ feet.
- Repeat this step of pulling hot masala chai from the pot to the cup, a few times (4 to 5 times). This breaks down the layer of cream and incorporates it back to the masala chai making it more tasty and thick.
- Strain the masala chai to serving cups & serve with any breakfast, snack or biscuits.
Method 2 – Making masala chai powder or chai masala
- Clean all the spices and add to a blender jar. Powder finely. Store it in an airtight glass jar.
- Use about ½ to ¾ tsp or more to make 2 servings of tea. For stronger tea you can use about ¾ tsp.
Notes
- Avoid overboiling the tea: If you boil too long, the tea turns bitter and becomes too heavy. Turn off when you begin to smell the sweet flavor in your tea.
- Tea powder/ leaves: The strength of tea depends on the kind of tea used like tea powder, tea leaves etc. It also depends on the brand of tea powder or leaves. Do adjust the quantities as desired. You won’t really know the right amount that works well unless you experiment a few times.
- Tea bags: boiling your chai with tea bags for too long can make it too strong or even bitter. So remove them at the time of adding milk.
- Kadak Chai: This recipe will give you a proper Kadak Chai with 1½ teaspoon tea powder (dust) or 3½ teaspoons CTC loose tea leaves (Assam) & full fat homogenized or toned milk.
- Brands of Tea : Wagh bakri, Tata Gold are some of the best known brands for loose leaf tea.
- Milk: Some like tea to be more milky and some less. Also adjust the quantity of milk if needed. I have tested this recipe with various kinds of full fat milk – fresh, homogenized and toned. Fresh homogenized and toned work well with the same quantities mentioned in the recipe.
- Low fat milk: If you are using low fat milk or non-homogenized cow milk, use milk and water in 1:1 proportions.
- Spices: You can increase or decrease the quantity of spices to suit your taste. I buy all my spices locally in Singapore but are grown in India or Sri Lanka.
- A few strands of saffron can be added for a unique flavor.
- You can add few tulsi (holy basil) leaves to increase immunity, though we may not benefit as much as eating the raw leaves.
Video
Watch Masala Chai Video
NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)
© Swasthi’s Recipes
About Swasthi
I’m Swasthi Shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthi’s Recipes. My aim is to help you cook great Indian food with my time-tested recipes. After 2 decades of experience in practical Indian cooking I started this blog to help people cook better & more often at home. Whether you are a novice or an experienced cook I am sure Swasthi’s Recipes will assist you to enhance your cooking skills. More about me
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Comments
I tried this Masala Chai recipe using Assam black CTC from a local brand that we buy from (Ahista Tea). It was delicious!
I tried this Masala Chai recipe using the Assam black tea from a local brand that we buy from (Ahista Tea). It was delicious!
Auntie, you’re the most talented and knowledgeable cook. God bless your hands. I visit your blog every day.
Just made a big ol pot with the mortar and pestle. It came out aromatic and delicious! Thank you for this awesome article/recipe.
How do we prepare the chai using your instant mix in step 2? Do we have to boil etc in pot as the other method or place powder straight in a cup with teabag? Does it need straining?
Hi John,
Yes add it to the boiling water the same way like the method shown in the post. If you want to add straight to a cup of boiling water, you may do so but straining is required. Spices won’t dissolve, they always need to be strained.
What is the tea cup set in the picture shown above? Where can I purchase
Good one
Hello Swathi,
You said to boil 1.5 cups of water add the grounded masala and tea and boil it down till thicken to
1 and 3/4 cup?
Did you have originally 2 cups of water instead?
Hello Lan,
We use 1.5 cups water + 1 cup milk. You will have 2.5 cups boiled down to 1 3/4 cup.
Best recipe!!!! I started drinking Chai because my step-sister made it for me and I loved it. All the recipes I find are so complicated and confusing. I tried this recipe tonight and it was perfect on the first try. Thank you for posting it.
Thank you Rosana. So happy to read this!
I find your commentary on the process, what to expect with varying ingredients and recipe at the end very informative and doable. Great stuff!
Thank you!
I have just returned from India and was missing my daily masala chai so tried your recipe and it was spot on! Just like the chai wallah’s in Delhi.
My grandson who was travelling with me also loved it. Thank you!
So glad you both like it Ann. Thank you
Excellent Masala Chai recipe!
Thank you so much!🙏😉😋
So glad you like it Elena! Thank you
I am Shanti Pillai
I tried your masala tea, supper ma. My kids love it and my sons prefer it with more pepper.
Thank you
Hello! That’s nice to know! Thank you for letting us know
Very nice! And well described instructions.
I want to make a batch of spiced Indian chai without milk for my busy mornings. I intend to heat the milk and prepared chai in a microwave. Would you advice storing the spiced tea without straining? The chai may develop better flavors while it sits in the refrigerator. Any advice? Can I use homegrown fresh rose petals? Thanks for your reply.
Hey Rosa,
On experimenting we found that storing chai for 3 to 4 days without straining kept the flavors better and intact. You may try a small batch. Yes you can add a few fresh rose petals if you want.
This is one of the many recipes I’ve tried from your website. It is excellent and I make this very often. Thanks for the recipe!
Can you make the tea without the cloves?
Yes you can make without cloves, cinnamon and even black pepper. You may omit all the spices to make plain chai
I have been “cheating” making my morning masala chai with packaged Assam tea and masala spice mix. Decided to try it from scratch. Well worth doing so!
Looking forward to trying out some of your other beverages, they look so interesting and delish. Thanks for teaching this 71 year old a new treat!
I love this chai recipe. The masala is lovely and pretty strong as it is supposed to be in an Indian tea. The part that really got me into trying was pulling the chai and it’s just wow! I have made chai many times with plant based milk but never got me the same like dairy. But this time I used dairy and it was great. Thank you
So glad you like it Sabrina. Thank you so much for trying and sharing back
This is one of the many Indian recipes I’ve tried from your website. It’s honestly so nice and amazing. I use plant based milk so I cut down the tea & use maple syrup to sweeten.
Glad to read this Bianca. Love the way you made it. Thank you for sharing back
A long-time tea lover and this chai tea is our new family favorite. We have been wanting something bold & better to replace our black tea and this does the trick. The masala creates a very robust flavor and we are loving it. Tastes delicious hot & chilled both. Thank you