HOMEMADE GINGER TEA

The ever flavourful Ginger is a quintessential ingredient in South Asian kitchens. I use plenty of ginger in my cooking. I however despise using ginger in Chai and personally feel that milk does not blend well with ginger... Anyway, that is just my view and am aware that "Adraki Chai" is an all-time favourite among Indians. I have noticed that South East Asians consume a lot of Coffee and Herbal Tea without milk unlike Indians who do so with lots of it. Me and hubby happened to visit a Javanese Massage hut recently where they served Ginger tea with Coconut sugar as a welcome drink. We were pretty impressed. I thought of trying out something similar with ginger minus milk and was quite successful in my first attempt.It is a bliss sipping this concoction and sure to revive and refresh you and your family members on a tiring day. Treat your family members with this Homemade Ginger Tea today.Enjoy!!.

Preparation time : 30 min                            Cooking time : 20 min                Serves : 4

Ingredients

Sliced or Cubed Ginger  ........................................ A handful
Cinnamon Stick..................................................... 1 inch length
Brown Sugar........................................................ 2 to 3 tsp
Vanilla Essence..................................................... 2 to 3 drops
Water ................................................................. 4 big cups

Method

• Pour  4 cups of water in a thick vessel. Soak the cubed Ginger and Cinnamon stick in the water for 30 minutes for the ginger and cinnamon essence to seep into it.
• Boil the water, ginger and cinnamon for 20 minutes. Let the flame be low.

• Add the brown sugar and stir well. The colour will immediately change to a honey brown.

• Switch off the flame and add 2 to 3 drops of Vanilla essence

• Filter the tea into cups and serve immediately. 

Notes

• Soak the ginger and cinnamon in water and refrigerate overnight. Then follow the same procedure as above. Longer the soaking time, stronger the tea.
• Substitute Honey or Jaggery instead of brown sugar.
• You can replace cinnamon with clove. I have not tried it personally though.