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–+ servings
Two cups of Indian tea served with cookies
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5 from 4 votes

Ginger Tea (Adrak Wali Chai)

This soothing and invigorating Indian-style Ginger tea, or Adrak wali chai, is made with just four ingredients, and is ready in 10 minutes!
Prep Time10 minutes
Total Time10 minutes
Course: Drinks
Cuisine: Indian
Diet: Vegetarian
Servings: 2
Calories: 22kcal
Author: Aneesha Gupta

Ingredients

  • 2 cup water
  • 2 teaspoon grated ginger (about ½-inch piece)
  • 2 teaspoon black tea leaves or 2 black tea bags like Tetley, Taj Mahal
  • ¼-⅓ cup low-fat milk (adjust quantity to taste)
  • 2 green cardamom pods gently crushed
  • sugar/honey to taste (I skip it)

Instructions

  • Place a sauce pan on medium-high heat. Add water, grated ginger, gently crushed cardamom pods and let the water come up to a simmer.
    Pot of water with grated ginger and cardamom
  • Add tea leaves (or tea bags) and bring everything to a rolling boil.
    Adding tea leaves to the pot of water
  • Add milk and bring the tea to a full boil again. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let it simmer for a minute. Turn off the heat.
    Stainless steel pot with Indian tea
  • Using a fine mesh strainer, pout the tea in two cups. Add sugar or honey to taste, if using. Enjoy!
    Pouring tea in a cup through a strainer

Video

Notes

  1. Ginger: For optimal results, use fresh ginger. Wash and dry the ginger and scrape off any bruised skin with a spoon or vegetable peeler. Peeling the entire ginger is optional and purely based on personal preference (I don't). 
  2. Adjust the flavor: This quantity of ginger gives the tea a prominent ginger flavor. The amount of ginger can be adjusted to suit your preference.
  3. Add masala: Add ⅛ teaspoon of tea masala (chai masala) to the saucepan along with ginger and cardamom, and enjoy Masala chai.
  4. Make it stronger: To make a strong cup of tea (Kadak Chai), add an extra ¼ cup of water and milk each, and simmer the chai for 2-3 minutes. 
  5. Make it creamier: For a creamier chai, add 1 ½ cups of water and ¾ cup of milk instead. Alternatively, use full-fat milk.
  6. Storing: Ginger chai tends to become darker in color and slightly bitter if reheated multiple times. If making a larger batch, store it in a thermos and use it as needed.
  7. Strain: Use a fine-mesh strainer to strain the tea, preventing any tea leaves from transferring to the cup.
 
The nutrition facts below are my estimates based on two 12-ounce cups of tea without sugar.  If you follow any diet plan, I recommend cross-checking with your preferred nutrition calculator.
 

Nutrition

Calories: 22kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 27mg | Potassium: 67mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 58IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 52mg | Iron: 1mg