Vegan masala chai with almond milk

Milk is at the top of the "to feed my kid" agenda of Indian parents. I remember giving my parents marathon runs while they tried feeding milk to me, mainly because I just couldn't get the fragrance of freshly prepared milk from the animal down my throat! For the same reason, I never consumed milk until I came to The Netherlands, where suddenly everything dairy tasted way different. It is also here that I learnt about the fact that people can be intolerant to lactose, or have non-dairy choices when it came to food.

I received a few requests for vegan recipes from my friends today, and decided to kick off a response series with something that was more accessible at home. I had a pack of almond milk for overnight oats, but never got around to actually making some. So I decided to try some masala chai with almond milk. Since dairy based milk is thicker and creamier in consistency than almond milk, it becomes necessary to dilute the milk with half the portion of water while preparing chai. I just had to skip this step while preparing my chai this evening with the non-dairy alternative and the result was amazing! In fact, this was an easier recipe compared to the dairy version, with equally satisfying result :-)

Serves: 2

Time to cook: 5 minutes

Ingredients

1. 2 cups Almond milk
2. 3 teaspoons black tea
3. Half an inch of ginger, shredded
4. 2 cloves
5. 1 pod of cardamom
6. 2 tablespoons of sugar

Method

1. Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and set on medium flame
2. Let the milk rise 2 times and turn the heat off
3. Strain and serve!