Today’s recipe is a previously mentioned gift from Farhan at happygrub. When she sent me a package of amazing goodies from Singapore, she wasn’t allowed to send the tin of cardamom milk that she had planned to include. However, it made the 10 000 km journey anyway, straight from the note Farhan tucked into the package into my idea bank. As soon as I read about this milk, I was intrigued, so I asked for more details. Farhan told me “masala tea is made by boiling cardamom pods which are crushed with the tea and milk, then strained before serving. The cardamom milk is just a shortcut and can be poured straight into the mug from the fridge. It’s nice. You should make a large batch and store it, have it with Indian tea and condensed milk. That’s how tea/coffee is drunk all over Asia. No one drank fresh milk in coffee or tea till Starbucks came.” (Hope it’s okay that I’m quoting you, Farhan!)
Today was particularly gloomy in Edmonton, without even a hint of sun from morning till night. Just varying shades of grey. Not to mention the abbreviated day–sunrise at 8 AM, sunset at 4:30… and it’s only getting shorter. If ever there was a day that needed spicing up, it was today. So I decided to make a batch of cardamom milk. I added it to Indian tea (straight out of my Singapore package, and brewed strong), and it was lovely. I made a big batch, just like Farhan recommended, so I’d have more on hand. When I was recipe planning, I thought a bit of sugar added to the milk would be a good idea, to help with preservation (does that make sense at all? I don’t know, but it tastes good!) The milk added to tea gave a hint of the exotic without being over-the-top complex, like chai is. It’s a perfect antidote to winter cold.
Cardamom Milk
I didn’t have a recipe for this, so I winged it. Feel free to experiment with your own proportions. And let me know if you come up with something divine!
3 cups milk
1/3 cup sugar
10-15 green cardamom pods*, slightly crushed
Combine all ingredients in a saucapan, and warm over medium-low heat until milk seems like it’s going to start boiling any second. Remove from heat and allow the cardamom to steep in the milk for 20 minutes. Strain cardamom seeds and pods out of milk and store your finished product in the fridge.
To use this milk with tea, I brewed strong tea and filled my cup 3/4 with tea, topping up the rest with cardamom milk. Next time I’ll try some condensed milk, although I found this mixture to be plenty sweet for me.
*if you’re looking for cardamom, try finding it in an Indian market, or the “ethnic” aisle of the supermarket (in Edmonton, Superstore has it cheap). Cardamom is WAY cheaper there than in specialty markets. By cheaper, I mean $5 compared to $13, at least in Edmonton.
Supper In Stereo 
7 comments
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November 17, 2008 at 8:58 pm
foodiesuz
That’s a lovely photo.
I just warmed up my (very expensive) cardamom seeds with some milk and added it to my tea. It tasted much more delish than the $4 Starbucks chai, if I do say so myself. Good call!
November 18, 2008 at 12:51 am
kickpleat
i’ve got a ton of cardamom pods and i like the sound of this! mmm, spicy tea.
November 18, 2008 at 5:49 am
hannehanne
sue– It is nice, isn’t it? I love anytime I can get a DIY drink like this. Starbucks doesn’t need my money!
Kickpleat– It’s so nice on a grey day, or a cold morning. I think I’ll be drinking it all winter.
November 18, 2008 at 5:46 pm
EB
I bought some cardamom at the Indian market but I haven’t used it yet, now I’ve just got to!
November 19, 2008 at 7:12 am
afternoon delight « foodie suz
[…] shamelessly stole this tea idea from Supper in […]
November 23, 2008 at 12:53 am
happygrub
The photo looks fabulous, the green in the white milk..
When I first drank chai from Starbucks I was like “what the heck is in this..” I’ve never ever had chai the way starbucks makes it, it tastes so WiERRd, like they put aniseed or something. On the other hand I’ve been guiltily starbucking everyday for a week now, I mean if there’s one thing that can make me feel good, its espresso!!
I thought bout it, and I think I need to take my words back on one thing,bout condensed milk in Asia they make tea with fresh milk all over India , and trust me, I drank my way thru the little of india I saw. Lots and lots of fresh cow milk. frothy frothy boiling pots of 2 cents cups of chai. In Southeast Asia, its with condensed milk only!
Hey I wanted to ask u something,and I know, if my comment was gonna be this long I should have mailed u.. I saw bags of frozen berries in my local bake store and blueberries were going for like US$6 and blackberries were like a third of the price. Are blackberries cheap and what are they good for? And why are blueberries expensive?
November 23, 2008 at 5:01 pm
hannehanne
farhan– that’s so interesting about the chai! I know for sure that most chai around here has anise in it. I’m totally converted to the cardamom milk, though. It’s SO GOOD! Also, that Taj Mahal tea is really nice with it.
As far as the berries go, I don’t know why blueberries would be more expensive than blackberries. Around here, they’re similar prices. The only reason I could come up with is that blueberries are probably harder to pick than blackberries (?). Blackberries are really nice, though. You can use them the same ways you’d use rasberries, in cobblers, pies, sauces…. yum!