Instructions:
– Take one cup of water per mug of tea you want to make in a kettle.
– Put 1 heaped tsp of loose tea per mug (or just slightly more if you like it strong) and start boiling it.
– Put how many ever teaspoons of sugar you want in your mug, and add evaporated milk (I like the Rainbow brand) accordingly.
– Once the water and loose tea mixture comes to a boil, put it on a slow boil and let it bubble for a bit to ensure better and stronger taste in your resulting drink.
– Pour it into your mug through a strainer.
– Stir and enjoy!
2017 edit: I now have just one spoon of brown sugar. Chai tastes great with raw sugar, do switch over 🙂
Edit: Apart from comments below with alternative ways of making chai with personal touches, here are some Twitter responses to this too:
https://twitter.com/HanaYounes/status/166473686499606528
https://twitter.com/RiteshJes/status/166505952487546882
@DevinaDivecha really sweet post!
— meghamk (@meghamk) February 6, 2012
@DevinaDivecha I am drinking some chai now 🙂 I used low fat milk now, but think evap milk makes the tea so much better.
— Didi Paterno (@didipaterno) February 6, 2012
@DevinaDivecha good guide! I love rainbow milk I almost teared up when I saw they sold it here. Didn’t have it in US!
— Miss N (@movie_mafia) February 6, 2012
FooDee 
hey, we use the same tea powder…. very aromatic rite??? Loved the video.. I shud make the mallu frothy version for u sometime! 🙂
Hurrah!!! I think evaporated milk is the secret. I will buy myself a can for our Indian tea time get together this evening 🙂 woohoo! *hugs*
Growing up there was always chai in our house.Like you,I often wondered why some people have no clue how to make it.Add some grated ginger to the boiling tea and you have ginger tea and some crushed cardamoms for cardomom tea.good job on the video!
I actually make a pretty lousy cup of tea, so definitely going to try this home! Also, you owe me a cuppa. 🙂
My method of making chai is a little different. I think if we have a chai showdown, I have a good chance of beating you. :PAlso, fresh milk can be used, which gives it a slightly different taste and takes a little longer to prepare. But yeah, most people prefer evaporated milk.
Dina – Oh yeah we really like this one! We try to experiment sometimes with different loose tea brands but have stuck to this one for a very long time 🙂
@didpaterno Hurrah indeed! Thanks for being the catalyst to finally pushing this chai video out. If I hadn’t bequeathed you with all that chai, who knows if I would’ve ever done this for the blog. Hope the tea-making goes well. Let me know!
Farwin – Chai is a staple, I agree! Yeah sometimes we stick in ginger and cardamom as well…this is my “simple chai for dummies” video ;)Thanks for stopping by!
Shaahima – DONE!!!@iYubk I should’ve known a chai post would make you comment on my blog 😛 Bring on the chai showdown…BRING IT ON!!!
Treat me with a cup of chai and I will be your best friend..such is my love for chai. And as I write this comment, I have a cup in my hand. I drink chai almost 2-3 cups a day and still am always ready for the 4th helping. Loved your video. I usually make some chai masala at home and add in the boiling concotion to get one really good masala chai 🙂 cheers !
Thanks for this tea Dee :)Is there a special type or brand of tea leaves that I should buy?
Sandy – You’re welcome! For masala tea, you can pick up Society Tea (with the red bottle as in the video) or Tata *something* (sorry the full name escapes me; this you will find in Adil supermarket). If you want, Lipton Yellow Label loose tea (not teabags…those are banned in my house :P) is excellent, but this is without the masala (it’s just plain loose tea, but its taste is amazing), so you can add an extra step. Get Kamal Masala spice mix for tea (you get it at LuLu, Maya’s I think) and add it to the boiling mixture as well…only a slight pinch though. Don’t add this extra mix if you already have a “masala tea” loose mix.
Raji – I always loved chai but developed a special place in my heart for it when I was living in the UK. Because it was so cold, I’d have a lot more than I used to over here in UAE. Now that I’m back, I still have my chai, but perhaps not every day 🙂 Just finished a nice masala chai…feeling happy now haha.Yeah we used to have a separate chai masala but recently found this masala chai loose tea mix to work equally well for us :)Thanks for commenting!
Love the video, Dee! I’m a chai person and use Rainbow too, but the one that comes with cardamom flavor. “It’ll convert you to the Cult of the Chai from the Teabag Train of Thought.” Haha! Love this line 😀
Can’t start my day without a cup of chai and a biscuit! We make ours a bit differently…we usually shove in the chai leaves only when the water is simmering, and then as soon as it comes to a roiling boil, we turn down the flames, let it simmer a bit, and then shut it off completely and cover for maybe 15 seconds (to do the infusion). And then pour and enjoy…with Rainbow milk of course! 😉 I think the key to a good cup is one where the tea has infused to the right amount – not so much that it’s bitter, and not too less such that it’s watery…Nice work on the video! 🙂
Devina,I love chai with masala!I usually get my masala from Adil. Try the Gold Rainbow it tastes much better than the normal one when making masala chai!
Thanks Nadia, I like that line too :DI Live in a Frying Pan – Thanks! Little did my journalism professors know the skills I learnt on Adobe Premiere in my Masters was going to be used on food and drink videos 😛 I LOVE that this post is getting people to tell me different ways in which they make chai…thinks it’s awesome that one seemingly simple drink can be made in so many ways. Thanks for sharing your method too!LaMereCulinaire – Yeah we had Gold Rainbow for a bit…we’re alternating between flavours right now 😀 And yeah, Mom gets her masala from there too when we use plain loose tea…the one we have right now has the masala already with the loose tea so we don’t add extra 🙂
I was going to make some chai tonight and realized I don’t have a small kettle thing like your that goes on the stovetop. the next closest thing I have is a small frying pan or a 2 quart pot! Need to head to the grocery store tomorrow!
Well I would pop over to you for a cup ! Lovely blog .. a great read and I would love to come to Dubai one day! It sounds like foodie heaven !
Trying again to comment !Well I would pop over to you for a cup ! Lovely blog .. a great read and I would love to come to Dubai one day! It sounds like foodie heaven !
Ginger & Scotch – I realized I never asked if you ever got a kettle!Vanessa – thanks for popping by! Oooh there’s a lot of food to get through here and we have so many talented bakers and chefs as well. Definitely a foodie heaven 🙂 Definitely buzz if you do come around.