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Coconut Masala Chai Tea (Paleo, Dairy-Free)

Our time in India was fantastic (3 Indian cooking classes, a camel ride in the Thar desert, meeting random travelers, seeing the beautiful Lakes of Udaipur, marveling at the amazing colors in Jodhpur, and so much more). It’s definitely gotten me excited about cooking more Indian dishes too.

One of the most common things we had in India was Masala Chai (Tea). We drank it with fresh goat’s milk in the middle of the Thar desert with some villagers, we had it at a random deserted road-side stall, and we made it in every single cooking class we attended.

Here’s our roadside stop for Masala Chai Tea!

What Does Masala Mean?

Masala just means a “spice mix/blend,” so there’s a masala for tea, there’s a masala for chicken curry, etc.

What Does Chai Mean?

Chai just means “tea.”

Traditional Masala Chai Recipe

The recipe was pretty much the same everywhere. Ingredients are:
2 cups of milk, a little bit of water, 2 heaped tablespoons of sugar, 1 tablespoon of black tea leaves, and a pinch of Masala Tea powder (recipe here or you can purchase a ready-made blend on Amazon here).

Make Your Own Masala Chai Spice Blend

It’s really fun and easy to make your own blend (see here).

Here’s Rekha Sharma (from Spice Paradise in Jodhpur, India) teaching us how to make Masala Chai.

Clearly, the milk and the ton of sugar in the traditional recipe aren’t very Paleo, so I created my own version with coconut cream and a little bit of raw honey (recipe below).

And, if you’re interested, here’s a slideshow of the photos from the beautiful blue city of Jodhpur, India. Click the arrows at the bottom to view all the photos.

Super Easy Masala Chai Recipe

If you’re lazy, then you can make a easy masala chai (tea) by making black tea (from a teabag with hot water), adding a pinch of masala chai spice into the hot tea, and then adding coconut or almond milk.

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Coconut Masala Chai Tea (Paleo, Dairy-Free)

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• Cook Time: 5 minutes
• Total Time: 5 minutes
• Yield: 2 servings 1x
• Category: Drinks
• Cuisine: Indian

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Ingredients

• 1 cup coconut cream (from the top of a can of refrigerated coconut milk)
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon raw honey (or other sweetener of choice or can be increased or omitted)
• 1 Tablespoon loose black tea leaves
• Pinch of masala tea spice blend (recipe here or purchase on Amazon here)

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Instructions

1. Heat the coconut cream and water in a saucepan.
2. Add in the honey/sweetener, the tea, and the spice blend. Mix well.
3. Heat at a low simmer for approx. 4-5 minutes.
4. Taste the tea and add more honey/sweetener or spices to taste.
5. Pour through a strainer (to remove the tea leaves) and serve immediately.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 cup