Chai and Popcorn: Part Two

I love chai made in South Asian restaurants and I can never quite duplicate its flavor. One of my favorite memories of chai is from the first time I attended the All Soul's Event in Mountainview Cemetery. There was a tent where the local community was serving chai and burfi--the perfect comfort food on a cold night. It helped to temper the grief I felt as I remembered my ancestors. There's something about a community reaching out to nurture with food that reminds me of home, of the funerals and happier social events on the prairies. We need this comfort. It is part of the ritual. It is the ritual.

My co-presenter and translator for this workshop was the lovely Mohinder. I learned much from her. She says one of the first things she does every morning is grind some spices with a mortar and pestle. It creates a fragrance that moves through the house and starts the day. As I ground the spices for chai she advised me to put a little bit of ground cardamon seeds on top of each cup of finished chai for extra fragrance and taste. What a great idea. We all agreed that we love cardamom. " If it doesn't have cardomom, it isn't chai", one lady says. "And if it's not black tea, it's not tea." I knew it! Ha! Green cardamom and black tea are two of my favorite things. I ground up some fennel, ajowain, and anise seeds which are all good for digestion. I crumbled up some real cinnamon bark from Ceylon and crushed some Chinese star anise, green cardamom pods and black pepper. We had a bit of trouble trying to find the Punjabi word for the spice called star anise (Illicium verum) and for the herb called anise seed (Pimpinella anisum) as well. Star anise is another one of my favorites. I love its licorice scent. We also added two cloves. All the spices in chai are very good for your health. Cinnamon is something that I try to have every day because it helps prevent adult diabetes. My friend Sharon infuses cinnamon into the jug of drinking water she keeps on her table, which I think is a great idea.

Black tea is also good for you and particularly if you drink it without cow's milk (containing casein) or sugar. However, it's still good for you in milky masala chai. I made two versions of chai: one with milk, water, no fat evaporated milk and a high quality assam tea from Shaktea; and one with low fat coconut milk and red tea. Evaporated milk and coconut milk are both quite sweet, but for a treat you can sweeten with honey or Agave Nectar and dried coconut sap, both which have a low glycemic index. We're trying to be healthy here, so another option is to sweeten with Stevia which is a beneficial herb. It will grow here in Vancouver, but you need to take it inside in the winter. It's worth growing your own, because it's very expensive to purchase as powders or drops. Licorice root is not a good alternative sweetener for those of us who are at risk for diabetes.

I boiled the spices with the water for five minutes, added the milk to bring it up to temperature, then steeped the teas for three minutes. We snacked on popcorn I drizzled with a bit of sunflower oil and tossed with Sri Lankan curry powder, salt, and the leaves of the curry plant from my garden. The so-called curry plant (Helichrysum italicum) looks a bit like lavender, but with compact yellow flower heads. It smells like curry powder, but tastes more like sage. It really lifted the flavor of the popcorn.

I talked about the use of dandelion root in tea, but I did not serve it because it is medicinal and there are some contraindications to certain conditions and medications. Contraindications: Gastric discomfort may arise due to hyperacidity. As dandelion heightens the bile flow people with an obstruction of the bile ducts should not use dandelion. Dandelion may also heighten the blood levels of herbs or drugs processed by the liver. Dandelion root should never be taken in associated with lithium, a medication commonly taken to cure manic depression. Do not use it if you are currently taking ciprofloxacin, oxfloxacin or levofloxacin, as these drugs and dandelion root are not compatible. Dandelion should not be used with diuretic drugs and other antihypertensive medications.

Burdock root, on the other hand is quite safe and a good cleansing herb to put in your chai. Just be warned that it is a gentle laxitive.

One last note: I chatted briefly about rose hip tea. Rose hips are a great source of Vitamin C and often are marketed with Hibiscus petals to make a tart, fruity tea which is good hot or iced. It has come to my attention in my research that you should clean out the seeds and hairs inside the rose hips in the fall because they can irritate your digestive organs. If they are too small to clean, just check that they don't burst in as you steep them or filter with a cloth.

The women attending the workshop were very patient and gracious and I am very thankful for this opportunity to have fun with them.

ETA: I forgot to mention the ginger. The chai I made had several chunks of fresh ginger.

Tea and Popcorn: Part One

This week I gave a workshop on tea to a South Asian community kitchen. I was incredibly intimidated, but I gave it my best. Here's the thing--I was supposed to talk about herbal teas, but I know from experience these women love their masala chai. Well, I decided to try to talk about both "real" tea and herbal tea. I love chai and I know it's good for you, so I decided to research what people call "herbal chai."

Herbal chai usually refers to chai without caffeine that is made with rooibus or dandelion tea. There are still spices in herbal chai, but there might be extra medicinal herbs added such as burdock root and echinacea. The women in my workshop were incredibly curious about "red tea" or rooibus tea. Rooibus means "red bush" in Afrikaans. It is tea that is made from a plant that grows in a specific region of South Africa. During apartheid sanctions it was not available in Canada. I saw it first in England, where it was marketed as "children's tea." It is sometimes spelled "rooibosch" from the old Dutch, and I have heard it pronounced three different ways: rooee-bus, ROY-bus, and ROY-bosh. I was surprised to hear the plant Aspalathus linareas is in the legume family. It has a high anti-oxidant content and the great thing is it does not become bitter if the leaves sit in the water. I make a pot in the morning and drink it all day, even when it becomes cold. So far, it is believed to be entirely safe to drink. Furthermore, it does not contain caffeine and has a calming effect.

One thing that's a bit confusing is that although this tea is commonly known as red tea, it also comes in a green form, that is tea leaves that have not been oxidized. I actually prefer green rooibus because it has a slightly more savory, grassy flavor, but it is quite hard to find. So mostly you will see rooibus advertised as red tea, with shops serving red chai, and even red lattes, which are also delicious as rooibus does marry well with milk. It also goes well with a variety of other flavors including mint, chocolate, fruits, and florals such as rose petals. My son loves rooibus chai and my husband likes a rooibus with some berries in it. Once you have some basic red tea you can add your own ingredients to your taste.

For an activity, I set up the women with bowls of dried berries and cubes of candied ginger. We made tea chains that would be lovely infused with rooibus tea. The berries were: currants, goji berries, cherries, physalis (ground cherries or cape gooseberries), cranberries and blueberries. So we had lots of antioxidants for a cleansing tea. We used dental floss as string because it is hygenic and strong and we made tags for a label at the end of the tea chain. While the ladies made their tea strings, I passed out popcorn and started to prepare some chai.

Tulips and Chai

Ules has been busy making Lego gadgets. He has just discovered Gilligan's Island and is at that age when he laughs uproariously at all the sight gags and pratfalls. I happen to have a copy of The Gilligan's Island Cookbook, so I see a coconut cream pie in our future. He has also chosen a tropical island theme for his birthday well ahead of time. Yesterday I bought some white hot chocolate mix and made chai with it with whole spices and green rooibus tea. I used real cinnamon and topped it with whipped cream. The result was decadent, but too sweet for me.

I have to avoid dark chocolate again because I've entered a migraine zone. I saw bright sun dogs on Sunday and my heart sank because I know what that means: a change in atmospheric pressure and migraine weather. Sure enough, Monday was full on migraine day and Tuesday morning was excrutiating. I kept trying to visualize relaxing my head, neck, and shoulders. I've got lots of heavy duty meetings this week so I've got to try to keep the stress under control. Sunny and bright today and it's dropping in temperature. I wonder if we will get some more snow. Anyway. the best thing about a migraine is when it's over. Like my dad always says, "I think I'm gonna live."