CHA, ANYONE? MAYBE COOKIES TOO...
Curling your fingers around a steaming hot cup of tea, slowly sipping the invigoratingly flavoured and aromatic beverage, is like spending quality time with a friend — it can soothe you when you are unwell, rejuvenate you when you are tired, and revive your spirits when you are bored.
Turn to these recipes, to learn the perfect way of brewing this magic potion, with the right proportion of tea, and other ingredients. Savour the drink hot and fresh, and avoid reheating it, because that makes the tea slightly bitter.
Every person has their favourite brew — black, milky, hot, cold, plain, spiced; a seemingly endless list. Depending on how it is made, tea can not only wake you up, but also soothe you and warm your soul when you feel down.
And of course, there are those well loved 'adda' sessions with friends and colleagues, which are always incomplete without the perfect cup(s) of tea.
MASALA TEA
Ingredients
2 tbsp tea powder
4 tbsp sugar, or to taste
½ tsp crushed ginger
2 lemon grass stalks, each cut into 2" pieces
2 green cardamoms
2 cups milk
Method
Combine 2 cups of water, tea powder, sugar, lemongrass, and ginger in a saucepan and boil on a medium flame for 2 minutes. Add milk, mix well and bring to boil on a medium flame. When the mixture boils reduce the flame to low to prevent it from spilling and continue to boil for another 4-5 minutes, stir occasionally if necessary. Strain immediately and discard the tea powder residue. Serve immediately.
BASIL TEA
Ingredients
1 cup water
1½ cups fresh basil
1 tbsp chopped ginger
Sugar to taste
2 tbsp tea powder
2 cups milk
Method
In a deep pan add water, basil leaves, ginger, sugar, and tea powder and bring to boil till the water gets a dark shade. Add the milk and simmer for 5 minutes. Serve hot and garnish with basil leaves.
FRUIT TEA PUNCH
Ingredients
8 cups water, divided into half
2 family size tea bags
1 cinnamon stick
3/4 cup sugar
½ cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
½ cup frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
Sliced orange, lemon or fresh mint for garnish
Method
Bring 4 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add tea bags and cinnamon stick; remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Once steeped, remove cinnamon and tea bag. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Stir in orange juice and lemonade concentrates. Pour mixture into pitcher, add remaining 4 cups water and pour over ice. Garnish with fresh mint or lemon slice if desired.
GREEN TEA ICE CREAM
Ingredients
1 cup heavy cream, cold
½ cup sweetened condensed milk, cold
4 tsp green tea powder
Method
First mix 4 teaspoons of green tea powder in 3 tablespoons of hot water and let cool. Then whip 1 cup of cold heavy cream until stiff. Heavy cream contains more than 36 percent of milk fat and should be whipped to stiff without sugar. Now mix green tea mixture with ½ cup of cold sweetened condensed milk. And add in green tea and condensed milk mixture into heavy cream and fold carefully until combined. Now transfer to a container, and cover with plastic wrap. Then freeze for at least 6 hours or overnight.
TEA COOKIES
Ingredients
1 cup all purpose flour
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp black tea
½ tsp ground cardamom and cinnamon, optional
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp vanilla
½ cup unsalted butter
Method
In a food processor or small chopper, pulse the flour, sugar, powdered sugar, tea and salt until the tea is pulverised and distributed throughout the dry ingredients. If desired, add the cardamom and cinnamon as well, which will give a distinct flavour to the cookies. Add the vanilla and butter. Pulse together just until a rough dough is formed. Scrape the dough out of the chopper and form into an 8 to 9 inch long log on a piece of wax or parchment paper.
Wrap the paper around and roll the log smooth. Freeze the dough, or chill for at least 30 minutes. To bake, preheat the oven to 200 degree C and line a baking sheet with parchment. Use a sharp knife to slice the chilled or frozen log of dough into 1/3 inch thick pieces, place on the baking sheet and bake until the edges are just beginning to brown, 10-12 minutes. Let cool on sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks. Store cooled cookies in an airtight container.
TEA MUFFINS
Ingredients
225ml unsweetened almond milk
2 teabags
1 tsp ground cinnamon
400g flour
2 tsp baking powder
150g light brown sugar
¼ cup natural skin-on almonds, roughly chopped
2 large eggs
150ml butter or oil
Method
Warm the almond milk with the contents of 2 teabags and cinnamon, stirring to mix and leave to cool. While the milk is cooling, preheat the oven to 200 degree C and line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper. In a large bowl, measure out the flour, baking powder, sugar and 2 tablespoon of the chopped almonds, combine well.
When the milk has cooled, add the eggs and oil, then whisk well. Add the liquid to the dry ingredients, using a wooden spoon. Don't be too efficient about this— a slightly lumpy batter makes for lighter muffins. Divide the mixture between the muffin case, then sprinkle equally with the remaining almonds and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean and the muffins are slightly risen and pleasingly golden brown on top. Remove to a wire rack to cool for about 10 minutes before devouring.
JASMINE GREEN TEA JELLY
Ingredients
1 tbsp gelatine
2 tbsp water
3 cups brewed jasmine green tea-still hot
½ tsp liquid sweetener
2 tbsp sugar
4 tsp lemon juice
Method
In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatine over the 2 tablespoons of water. Let stand until softened. Microwave the gelatine in 30 second increments until liquid. Stir into the tea along with the sweetener, sugar and lemon juice. Pour into 6 small dessert dishes or teacups and let set in the fridge for at least 4 hours. Serve chilled.
Photo: LS Archive/Sazzad Ibne Sayed
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