Indian Ginger Tea - Adrak Chai
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This Indian Ginger Tea will be your new favourite tea recipe! Featuring fresh ginger root, black tea, and milk to make it smooth and silky, Ginger Chai is loaded with health benefits and it’s perfect to enjoy alone or with your favourite Indian snacks!
Indian Ginger Milk Tea Recipe
You may be quite familiar with the word chai, which is Hindi for “tea.” If you’re wondering, to say “chai tea” literally is saying “tea tea.” So when you’re asking for a chai tea latte at your favourite coffee shop, you are saying a “tea tea latte.” Just something that makes me chuckle!
Chai is a staple beverage in India, consisting of black tea that is brewed with water, a variety of spices, sugar, and milk. Despite its popularity, believe it or not I’ve not gotten into it many years later after having come to Canada! My parents just never allowed me to drink tea growing up in New Delhi! Why? I’m not quite sure, they just said I’m too young. So unfortunately I’m not the right person to ask about the experience of enjoying chai street-side, offered by the chaiwalas (tea vendors).
My first venture into chai was with my Masala Chai recipe, which features a homemade spice blend that’s added to our boiled black tea. It is indeed very special for sure, not to mention super fast to make!
What is Adrak Chai?
Adrak is Hindi for “ginger,” therefore adrak chai directly translates to “ginger tea.” Our ginger milk tea will be different from the masala chai because in this recipe, the ginger will actually be boiled with the black tea, then we add our milk and sweetener. On the other hand, with masala chai, we boiled the tea in water then added our spices.
I first had Adrak Chai when I was on my Christmas vacation in the Philippines. At my aunt’s and uncle’s home, ginger chai was the go-to chai that was prepared pretty much every day! Whenever we came over in the morning from the hotel, we always asked for it! My sister and I were determined to recreate it at home so we could take that special chai with us. I’ve modified the version from Manila to make it “Anadi-style,” but the method and core recipe is based on my family’s knowledge!
At the time of writing this, we’ve been seeing crazy-low temperatures outside - about -32 degrees Celsius with a wind chill making it feel like -40 or even lower! Now this is when I could really go for some ginger chai to warm me up!
I discuss in my top 5 tips to explore your potential in the kitchen, Make Cooking Fun!, how knowing what you have on hand can inspire you to make some new creations you never thought you would have before! Got tea leaves sitting in your pantry? How about that ginger root that you got for a dish but you’re not sure what to do with it? Well, our ginger milk tea sure uses a lot of ginger, so there’ll never be any waste again! Furthermore, if you gotta finish a carton of milk, then this is the perfect opportunity to do that! If India is a Destination Unseen for you - with regard to food or even beverages in this case! - then I encourage you to try out this easy Ginger Chai recipe as part of your Live to Cook one-month challenge! Get started on your cooking journey for free by signing up to my newsletter, and you’ll never miss when a new recipe is out!
Be sure to watch the video at the bottom of this post to see how our warm and cozy Ginger Chai comes together! Please subscribe to my YouTube channel if you haven’t already and hit the bell button so you’re notified when all of my video recipes are live! I love to record the recipes so you’ve got all the tools you need for success! Let’s get brewing!
What Tea Do I Use For Ginger CHai?
To make our Ginger Chai, I’ll be using black tea leaves. The reason for this is because that’s what we use in India, so I wanted to make it reminiscent to home (even though in my childhood I never had tea!). Tea bags will work fine here too, but they may not produce a flavour that is as strong as the tea leaves.
Indian Ginger Tea with Milk Benefits
Our Ginger Milk Tea will certainly not only be delicious but good for your body! Let’s start off with the numerous benefits of black tea, which include:
Potentially reducing the risk of heart disease through polyphenols
Heart health may be improved by flavonoids
Possibility of the reduction in LDL cholesterol
Easy on the gut and digestion
Can be helpful in reducing blood pressure
To learn more about the health benefits of chai, you can check out this article by Healthline.
Not only that, but you may have heard that ginger root is widely used in alternative medicine. Ginger has got a handful of health benefits, so let’s just go over a couple:
Many of the health benefits come from gingerol, the main bioactive ingredient in ginger. Gingerol has strong anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects.
Ginger assists in alleviating nausea and morning sickness
Can reduce blood insulin levels
Helps with digestive problems
Assists in lowering LDL (bad) cholesterol
Boosts immunity by reducing the risk of infections
Can reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s and improve brain function.
Get more details about ginger’s health benefits here.
Should You Peel Ginger Before Boiling For Tea?
No, that’s not necessary. Actually, lots of the health benefits of ginger are from the peel, so you’d be missing out by removing it! Mashing chopped ginger in a mortar and pestle will do the job in helping break it down when you boil the ginger. All excess pieces will be strained out when you’re serving your Ginger Milk Tea. If you see any bruised spots, simply chop them off.
Why Make this Indian Ginger chai?
I bet you’ll become as addicted to this Indian Ginger Chai recipe as I am! In fact, if you’re a regular coffee drinker, perhaps you’ll even swap out your morning coffee for this amazing tea! Here are only a few reasons why you need to make this today!
Minimal ingredients: You’ll soon see that you’ll only need a handful of ingredients that you most likely already have at home! If you’re a tea drinker, then I’m sure there’s loads of black tea laying around!
Fragrant: The smell of this tea is just out of this world and it’ll warm you up before you even start drinking!
Healing ginger flavour: The ginger flavour runs through and through and is enjoyable till the last sip, whether your throat needs it or not.
Easy process: When you read the instructions, it may seem like we’re doing a lot. However, most of the work is just done over the stove with water and tea boiling. Just don’t stray away to ensure that the tea doesn’t boil over!
Tips For How TO Make Ginger Tea Taste Better
The longer you boil the ginger, the more intense the flavour would get in the tea. Make sure to smash it to release all the juices from the ginger into the tea.
Tea strength will increase the longer you boil it, boiling too long can cause the tea to become bitter. 2-3 minutes works best for me.
You require a good quality fine mesh sieve to ensure any bits of the brewed tea leaves are filtered from your serving.
The milk only needs to come up to a simmer and not a boil. Keep stirring to ensure it doesn’t burn and keep a close eye to ensure it does not boil over.
Double walled cups or a teapot can be helpful to keep the tea hot for a long time - especially if you drink slow.
Ingredients for Indian Ginger Tea
Be sure to scroll to the bottom of this post for the FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD or press the “Jump to Recipe” button to get all ingredient quantities and to save the recipe for later! You can also scale the recipe based on how many cups of chai you want to make. If you’re making chai for a party, then this will help you ensure you maintain the correct ratios without having you to do any mental math!
Water: To boil the ginger and the tea.
Milk: Whole milk will give you a nice creaminess to the tea. I first made this with 1% fat milk, but the texture really wasn’t the same! You CAN but if you want the best results, I do really recommend you use whole milk. If you only have milk with a lower fat content, you could either reduce the amount of water you’re adding for the tea, increase the amount of milk, or add a splash of cream.
Black tea leaves: Alternatively use black tea bags.
Green cardamom pods: This will really add an extra fragrant touch here. In my Indian dessert recipes such as Chawal Kheer (rice pudding) or Gajar ka Halwa (carrot pudding), I love to add a sprinkle of ground green cardamom. Cardamom is just so aromatic and will further enhance the ginger flavour and the creaminess from the milk!
Ginger: Whole ginger that will be crushed. I wouldn’t recommend you substitute with ginger powder because you won’t get as potent of a ginger flavour.
Sweetener: Use your favourite choice of sweetener here. I’m just using simple granulated white sugar.
How To Make Tea With Ginger and Milk
Smash the ginger pieces in a mortar and pestle or with the side of your chef’s knife.
Then, add the ginger to a saucepan with water and bring it to a boil. Boil for 4-5 minutes or until the water changes colour with a tinge of yellow.
Add the tea leaves and boil for 2-3 minutes. Lightly smash the cardamom pods and add to the tea, along with sugar (or sweetener of choice) and mix well.
Then pour in the milk and heat until it starts to steam. Once the milk starts to simmer, immediately take the saucepan off the heat and pour the milk through a fine mesh sieve into your teapot or cups.
Serve hot with your favourite snacks.
Variations to Ginger Chai
Sweetener: As mentioned earlier, you can use your favourite sweetener! If you want a natural option, try honey, cane sugar or jaggery if you can find it in your area.
Milk: If you’re vegan, you can opt for a plant-based milk alternative, such as oat milk, almond milk, coconut milk, or soy milk for more protein. However, the texture and taste will differ for sure. Additionally, if you’re lactose intolerant and still drink dairy milk, then lactose-free milk will work perfectly fine, and that’s actually what I used here!
Stronger ginger flavour: Boil the ginger for longer or add more ginger if you want it even stronger.
Creamier chai: The ratio of milk to water I used is 2 cups of water for 1 cup of milk. You can reduce this ratio for a creamier chai.
Stronger tea flavour: If you boil the milk for longer than indicated here, you will have a stronger chai flavour. This is also known as “Kadak” chai.
Other spices: You could also throw in a cinnamon stick and either turmeric powder or turmeric root into your tea to further enhance the flavours and to gain additional medicinal properties from these popular spices!
What to Eat with Indian Ginger Tea
Indian Ginger Milk Tea is perfect on its own or to pair with breakfast or snacks. Here are some of my favourite breakfasts that will go really well with our ginger chai recipe to start your day right!
Looking to enjoy a warm cup of chai in the afternoon with some tasty snacks? Here are only a handful of snacks that will be perfect with our ginger chai!
More Cozy Hot Drinks
Easy Red Velvet Latte: As Valentine’s Day is soon approaching, this is the perfect easy pretty drink to serve your loved one!
Starbucks Eggnog Latte: Although the holidays are over, you can enjoy Eggnog Latte any time of the year! The best part is that it only takes about 15 minutes to make!
S’mores Hot Chocolate: Feeling chilly but want to enjoy a campfire favourite in a cup? This is the perfect drink for you! The roasted marshmallows on top make them super special!
French Vanilla Cappuccino: A favourite recreated by the iconic Canadian coffee chain Tim Horton’s, this French vanilla cappuccino right from home is creamy with a hint of vanilla goodness! Excellent for those really cold days when you don’t want to visit the coffee shop!
Watch How to Make Indian Ginger Chai here:
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Indian Ginger Milk Tea - Adrak Chai
Ingredients
- 4 Tbsp black tea leaves
- 1 Tbsp ginger, minced
- 3 green cardamom pods
- 2 Cups water
- 2 Cups whole milk
- Sugar (or sweetener of choice)
Instructions
- Smash the ginger pieces in a mortar and pestle or with the side of your chef’s knife. Then, add the ginger to a saucepan with water and bring it to a boil. Boil for 4-5 minutes or until the water changes colour with a tinge of yellow.
- Add the tea leaves and boil for 2-3 minutes. Lightly smash the cardamom pods and add to the tea, along with sugar (or sweetener of choice) and mix well.
- Then pour in the milk and heat until it starts to steam. Once the milk starts to simmer, immediately take the saucepan off the heat and pour the milk through a fine mesh sieve into your teapot or cups. Serve hot with your favourite snacks.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
90.96 kcalFat (grams)
4.02 gSat. Fat (grams)
2.28 gCarbs (grams)
10.07 gFiber (grams)
0.46 gNet carbs
9.62 gSugar (grams)
8.89 gProtein (grams)
4.19 gSodium (milligrams)
53.25 mgCholesterol (grams)
14.64 mgNutrition info is an estimate.
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Welcome to Cooking With Anadi. This platform is all about making cooking exciting and finding new ways to bring classic flavours and recipes at your service. Join me in my personal journey in the world of cooking. Hope you have a great ride!
