With Every Story…

There is a need for a steaming cup of something.
Am I right?
Feeling a hot sipper wetten your face with its rising steam offers a sense of enjoyment,
(at least I believe so)
And though I am a lover of coffee
My time in India has made me an adorer of chai
Chai means tea, in Hindi, by the way
So when we order “chai tea”
We are calling it “tea tea”
Just so you know;)

You can have chai…
And you can have CHAI
Chai, when made the right way,
Is remedy to any peril a day my bring you
I kid you not

I first tasted my favorite cup of chai on a rooftop overlooking the Ganges River
I was traveling with 4 of my dearest friends, by train, across India
We were tired and weary in a lot of ways
And we were REALLY tired of drinking bad, weak chai
Again and again

us on the rooftop with the river Ganga in the background

THEN I had a cup of chai with a beautiful family on their rooftop
It was a beautiful day that I shall always keep locked away in my heart
We laughed and shared stories…
And sipped on the most delicious chai I had ever experienced
It was an epic journey with those 4 ladies I traveled with
For 2 reasons (actually, there are many…but I will focus on 2 for this entry)
1. I found out how good chai can be
2. I met Raja 3 days after this photo was taken…there I was thinking I was gonna be single, sippin chai across India for the rest of my life…I had no idea who was awaitin for me;)

So that journey ended, but my friends and I continued for years to live in India
We tasted lots of chai
Our favorite though always remained to be that which we sipped on that gorgeous rooftop
With those gorgeous friends

We continued to drink chai every day, all day
Heat or Freeze
Chai is consumed
And we did drink a cup every day, in Delhi, on another rooftop

this picture leaves me humbled. the little beauty in the foreground. such a rascal;) when we first met her, we could not go near her without her jumping in fear. Now, she embraces in such love and trust. She fell asleep on Rajas lap last year in the car driving back from our home. Her heart has softened in so many ways. Anyways, that is me and 2 of my bestest of friends in the background drinking our daily chai. You do drink it every day x2 there

And this little goober liked to bring it to us every day.

picture by emi heath

Then Raja and I have sipped on chai every day since we got married;)

this was behind our first home that we lived in. every day event…cake or biscuits and chai;) Oh…and this is also where raja proposed to me;) And it was Adam’s birth place. Kinda special. Miss this place.

This is the Glory that our backyard gazed upon as we sipped on chai

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So, I decided I would share my favorite chai recipe with you all today.
It is really quite simple.
And you can adjust it according to your taste
I do like mine strong in cinnamon in ginger…so you can lessen if needed
By the way…this is IN NO WAY a food blog
So I apologize for the layout and lack of strickingly tantalizing pictures
But the recipe is legit;)
I kid you not.

For 1 Cup of Chai

You will need:

Couple of broken cinnamon sticks (or sprinkle in powdered cinnamon)

3-5 Green Cardamom pods

3-5 cloves

1/2 tsp fennel seeds

1 tbs ground ginger

Ingredients (again)