Making the perfect cup of chai
He grew up in the land of Mt. Everest, but Nepalese native Swadesh Shrestha had other mountains to climb. Swadesh moved from Kathmandu, Nepal, to the United States 25 years ago, and found out very few people knew about the drink that was in his life from childhood, that began each day, that meant friendship, good times, conversation: chai!
Nowadays, chai is on the menu of virtually every coffee chain across the U.S., but for Swadesh, making a cup of chai in his own kitchen, using his own spices, is a tradition he wanted to share with Americans. He opened a chai shop in Minnesota, where he first lived, and after moving to Chicago … he opened Chiya Chai in Logan Square.
At Chiya Chai, you can order your black, rich Nepalese tea leaves mixed with whole or skim milk, or various non-dairy milks, and spices including cardamon, vanilla, nutmeg, curry, lavender, hazelnut, strawberry and much much more. If you get hungry after sitting and sipping chai, there’s a full menu of savory pies, curries and dumplings. I got to try a masala pie. Just as Swadesh promised, it goes perfectly with a cup of ginger cardamom chai.
And if you ask, Swadesh will happily tell you about his first memories of chai in Nepal, watching as food stall vendors made a fresh cup of chai right in front of him, or visiting his grandfather’s village and sitting at his feet, listening as all the men of the village gathered each morning to start the day, each with his own favorite blend of chai. His father went into the tea growing and exporting business, taking Swadesh with him to India and beyond when they began to ship their Nepalese tea to European countries. Today at Chiya Chai, Swadesh still sells various blends of tea leaves grown by his father.
Coffee is also on the menu at the cafe, but Swadesh is passionate about chai, hoping his customers find it a good alternative to coffee. Join us at suntimes.com to learn why Swadesh believes chai can create balance and more serenity in our busy lives.
GINGER CARDAMOM CHAI
Ingredients:
1 cup water
1 cup milk or non-dairy option 1 tbsp Chiya Chai Black Tea Mix ½ tsp Chai Masala
2 tsp sugar (add to taste)
1 tsp freshly grated ginger ½ tsp freshly ground cardamom
Directions: Bring water to a bowl in a medium saucepan.
While the water is boiling, using a mortar and pestle, coarsely grind fresh ginger and cardamom.
When the water boils, pour the tea and the chai masala into the pot and let boil for a minute. Pour the milk into the pot, bring to bowl and let boil for about a minute, stirring to make sure the mixture does not boil over.
Add the sugar, ground ginger and ground cardamom and boil for ½ minute.
Turn heat off and cover the pot, letting the tea steep for 1 minute.
Strain the tea into serving cups and sprinkle a pinch of ground cardamom.
This recipes makes 2 cups of tea.