Tea With Milk [But No Biscuits]

These are my two favourite Indian milky drinks at the moment. Both come courtesy of the lovely Meera Sodha. I enjoy her recipes because they are easy to follow, full of honesty and humour, and recognise that exotic ingredients are not always easy to come by in deepest Dorset or distant Norfolk.[well, she did grow up in rural Lincolnshire

Meera says "Fresh turmeric is knobbly and ugly, like Gollum’s feet, but scratch the surface with your fingernail and its beautiful blinding carrot-orange root is revealed beneath…For me it is the taste of childhood, of a few days off school, tucked up in bed and being looked after. While it may stain your fingers, it rewards with its many health benefits: it is anti-inflammatory and contains anti-oxidants, it soothes sore throats and helps kick colds.

This warm drink tastes sweet, earthy, pungent and zingy. Enjoy it first thing in the morning for a jolt of health or last thing at night for a soothing evening drink.  If you can’t find the root, use ground turmeric" 

NB. Only peel the turmeric if you don’t mind getting yellow fingers, or else leave unpeeled

Golden Milk

SERVES 2

• 2cm turmeric root, peeled and grated or 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1½ cm ginger root, peeled and grated or ½ tsp ground ginger
• 500ml milk
• a pinch of ground cardamom (optional)
• 1½ tablespoons honey

Place the milk, turmeric, ginger, cardamom (if using) and honey into a small sauce pan and bring up to a simmer then turn the heat off. Leave to infuse for a couple of minutes, stir, then pour the milk through a fine sieve or mesh strainer into two mugs. Squeezing out the last of the gingery turmeric juice with the back of a spoon. Stir and check for sweetness, adding more honey if need be.

Chai Masala

SERVES 2

• 1½ mugs water
• ½ mug milk
• 2 tea bags** 
• ½tsp chai masala mix
• Up to 4tsp sugar to taste

Put everything except sugar into a pan. Bring to the boil. Simmer for one minute. Strain into mugs, add sugar to taste. Serve immediately

Meera's Mother's Chai Masala Mix

• 50g ground ginger
• 25g ground cinnamon
• 25g ground cloves
• 15g ground black pepper
• 15g ground cardamom

Put spices in a jar, screw on lid tightly. Shake well to mix. Store in cool dark place, use within 6 months

This is my Bonne Maman jar which lives in the back of the tea&coffee cupboard. I have a tiny spoon [¼teaspoon] tucked inside- just enough for when I am making one mug.

btw the picture above is from Meera's twitter feed - I would encourage people not to use any book as a drinks coaster!

 **I use Sainsbury’s red label or redbush - Meera likes 'Yorkshire Tea' teabags.

update - please read the important comment below about turmeric! Next week I promise a very interesting cookie recipe