Tryout drink for one

My cousin visited me and bought me this mug and my favourite: pandan cake. In appreciation of her giving me this mug, I decided to use it with to make chai spiced hot chocolate. As you know me, I love to change the ingredients to suit me, to called it my own creation and my foods and drinks must be colourful, creative and delicious.

Google: “With a few exceptions, the base of chai is a black tea. There are many variations of black tea, but Assam is the most common in chai, as it has a strong, full-bodied flavour. Some people will get fancy and use a mixture of teas—such as combines Assam and Darjeeling tea because the former imparts “colon and body,” and the latter imparts “aroma and flavour. Chai almost always includes milk, and that milk is usually whole. Whole milk is the best way to bring out the richness in all the spices. Conclusion: whole milk or bust.”

“Chai can include a number of different spices. Cardamom is the most common ingredient, followed by some mixture of cinnamon, ginger, star anise and cloves. Pepper, coriander, nutmeg and fennel are also used, but they are slightly less common. Plain white sugar is the most common sweetener for chai. Jaggery, or unrefined cane sugar, is also used, due to its concentrated sweet flavour, but it’s harder to find in America. Chai typically involves a bit more sugar than you might be used to adding; at least a heaping teaspoon of sugar in each cup of chai to get the fullest flavour out of the spices.”

“There are a couple different recipes on the best methods for making chai. The basic process involves boiling water, tea, milk, sweetener and spices in some order of operations, bringing the chai to a simmer, and straining it. As with the other aspects of chai, there is a lot of room for variation—and a lot of recipes differences on the best methods, like when to add the milk, or how long to let the chai simmer.”

Today, I am learning what chai is, and making my version as I am courageous to tryout after browsing various recipes. I am also trying out pulling method as I had seen way back in Malaysia, called Teh Tarik; where the tea man used to do it for aromatic flavouring of the tea he is selling. Pulling method is pouring hot tea from a pot into a mug, doing it vice versa a few times. I am using dark chocolate instead of black tea and red wine without sugar, adding ice cream and chocolate sprinkles as garnish. Let’s make it and pour into my new mug from my cousin!!!

Ingredients

1 c milk
50 g dark chocolate
15 ml red wine (Pinot Noir)
enough water
ice cream
chocolate sprinkles

Chai spiced

1/4 Tsp cinnamon powder
1/4 Tsp cardamom powder
1/4 Tsp clove powder
1/4 Tsp ginger powder
1/8 Tsp fennel seeds, crushed

Method

To do the chai spiced first, combined all the spices in a small bowl. Next heat enough water in a small pot over low heat. Then add the chai spices and stir for 1 minute until aromatic. Next add milk and dark chocolate, stirring until combine.

Increase heat to medium and stirring continually for 5-7 minutes until dark chocolate melted and until the mixture just come to a simmer, smooth, and heated through. Now stir in red wine.

I didn’t do it as the tea man does at a height. I just pulled it about half way the normal height for fear of burning myself and avoid mess in my kitchen. Though I didn’t make a mess, the drinks certainly did gives me a boasting flavour. To garnish it, I added a scoop of ice cream and sprinkles the chocolate sprinkles over it. I should have waited a few minutes for my chai spiced hot chocolate to cool; my ice cream melted a bit. Anyway, I am glad to try out making chai spiced and the pulled method. Enjoy!!!

Note: You can use star anise, nutmeg, coriander, pepper, green cardamom, black cardamom, all spice, and Ceylon cinnamon. You can add sugar if you want it sweeten a bit. You can add cream instead of ice cream and can use Frangelico or Amaretto liqueur instead red wine. Use cocoa powder to dust and add cacao nibs as garnish. You can try the pulling method: The hot chocolate in pot lifted as high as you can/ daring and pour it into your mug. Do it by reversing; pouring from mug into the hot pot a few times – 3 to 4 times.

https://helenscchin.com/2024/07/21/chai-spiced-hot-chocolate-with-red-wine/

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