Gur ki chai, made so the milk never splits
गुड़ की चाय
Jaggery tea is easy once you know the one rule: the gur goes in off the heat. Two cups, eight minutes, from our own kitchen.
Every morning · Prep 2 min · Cook 8 min · Total 10 min · Makes 2 regular cups · Indian beverage
This is the recipe we are asked for more than any other, and the question behind it is almost always the same: why did my chai curdle? The answer is timing. Jaggery is slightly acidic, and milk that is boiling hard will split the moment it meets it.
Take the pan off the fire, let the bubbles settle, stir the gur in then. That is the whole trick. Everything below is just a good cup of chai built around it.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Water
- 1 cup Full-cream milk
- 2 tsp Tea leaves
- 1 inch piece Ginger, crushed
- 2, lightly crushed Green cardamom
- 2 level tsp ShuddhGaon jaggery powder
Method
- Start the water Put the water, the crushed ginger and the cardamom in a pan and bring it to a boil. Let it bubble for a minute so the ginger gives up its heat into the water.
- Add the tea leaves Stir in the tea leaves and simmer for 2 minutes, until the water is a deep reddish brown.
- Pour in the milk Add the milk and bring it back to a gentle boil. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, lifting the pan off the flame if it threatens to rise over the rim.
- Take the pan off the heat This is the step people skip. Move the pan off the stove and wait about twenty seconds, until the surface has stopped moving.
- Stir in the jaggery Add the jaggery powder and stir. It disappears in a few seconds. A cube takes about half a minute and a bit more stirring.
- Strain and serve Pour through a strainer into two cups and drink it hot. Chai that sits and is reheated with gur already in it can still split.
With our jaggery
Our powder measures spoon for spoon against white sugar, so a cup you used to make with one teaspoon of sugar takes one teaspoon of jaggery powder. The cubes are the easier option if you make one cup at a time: one cube for a regular cup, one and a half for a large or strong one. Jaggery is not a neutral sweetener, it carries a caramel note from the cane, so if the flavour feels strong on day one, start at three-quarters of your usual quantity and work up over a week.
Tips from our kitchen
- Or add it at the very start You can also put the jaggery into the water with the tea leaves, before any milk goes in. Then add the milk already hot and take the pan off just short of a boil. What never works is gur into milk at a rolling boil.
- For coffee and haldi doodh One teaspoon into the filter coffee decoction rather than the milk. For warm milk, one to two teaspoons stirred until it disappears.
- Keep a dry spoon in the jar A spoon still wet from the cup is the fastest way to turn a free-flowing jar into a solid block.
Questions people ask
- Why does milk curdle when I add jaggery to tea?
- Jaggery is slightly acidic, and milk at a rolling boil splits when it meets it. Take the pan off the heat, wait about twenty seconds for the surface to settle, then stir the gur in.
- How much jaggery powder for one cup of tea?
- One level teaspoon, about 4 g, for a regular cup. Use a heaped teaspoon for a large or strong cup, or one cube.
- Can I boil jaggery with the tea leaves?
- Yes, with the water and the tea leaves, before any milk goes in. Then add the milk already hot and strain the chai just short of a boil. What does not work is adding gur to milk that is boiling hard.
Worth reading alongside this
- गुड़ की चाय कैसे बनाएँ
- Jaggery in grams: the calculator
- Jaggery in your chai: how much, and when to add it
- Why jaggery powder hardens, and how to keep it free-flowing
The jaggery this recipe is made with
- ShuddhGaon Jaggery Powder Pouch — The same fine gud powder in resealable 500 g and 1 kg zip pouches
- ShuddhGaon Jaggery Cubes — Pure sugarcane jaggery, cut into ready-to-use cubes
- ShuddhGaon Jaggery Powder — Fine gur shakkar that melts into tea, coffee and milk
- ShuddhGaon Jaggery Combo — Cubes for the cup, powder for the kitchen