Cardamom Chai

We recently went to India and fell in love with the chai there. Super sweet and super strong, it somehow always managed to be refreshing - even in the heat. It was served in a small cup, usually after the meal. I like to use a little less sugar in mine, and a mix of milk and water to make it slightly less rich. The beauty of chai is that you can adjust as you like, adding whichever spices you have to hand. It would work well with plant milk too.

Ingredients - for 2 cups of chai:
1 cup of milk (or use condensed milk and omit the sugar)
1 cup of water
5-6 cardamom pods
1 spiced chai tea bag, or alternatively 1 cinnamon stick, 2 cloves, and a grating of nutmeg
2 regular tea bags
Sugar to taste, around 1-2tsp per cup

Add all the ingredients to a small saucepan and heat gently, stirring so that the milk doesn't catch. Leave to heat and infuse for 2-5 minutes, depending on how strong you like your tea. Discard the spices and tea bags and then pour or ladle in to cups.