chai holds a very special place in my heart. nothing in the world can compare to a good cup of chai. my earliest memories of loving food include three things: my nanabu (maternal grandfather), chai, and watermelon. when I was a little bug visiting my mums family in Pakistan, my nanabu would take me with him to run his daily errands around Lahore. this would include meetings, checking in on his printing press, and my favorite part, stopping in at his chai dhabba. picture this: a small hut on the side of the road surrounded by shrubbery and lined with picnic benches, where men from all walks of life gathered for a bowl (yes bowl, not cup) of chai. I wasn't allowed to drink chai at home but my nanabu would let me sip alongside him. it was the best feeling in the world! i was given a seat at the table, respected, and allowed to sip on some tea. what more could a curious 6 year old ask for?
I paired chai with Pakistani artist, Ismail Gulgee. The deep tones of Gulgee’s work pair perfectly with a strong cup of chai. Ismail Gulgee was a Pakistani painter. His natural portraits got him local recognition but he was best known worldwide for his abstract work, which was inspired by Islamic calligraphy and was also influenced by the "action painting" movement of the 1950s and 1960s
the word 'chai', like many of the eurasian words for tea, derives from the persian term chay which is from the mandarin word 茶 chá.
for 4 cups of chai:
ingredients:
4 tablespoons of your preffered black tea
4 cardamom pods
2 cinnamon sticks
3 1/2 cups of water
1 cup of milk / condensed milk or your preference of a milk substitute.
your natural sweetener preference to taste
instructions:
1. in a sauce pan boil four cups of water
2. add tea, cardamom pods and cinnamon sticks to the boiling water
3. when tea starts to boil, add milk, watch over the pot,
4. as soon as the milk boils, your chai is ready to serve! (add your choice of sweetener as you serve)
