Sffron infused Indian Tea (Chai)

I love my Indian tea - this morning I workup a bit early and had the luxury of making a big flask of tea to bring it to work. To my surprise all my colleagues were keen to try my tea as the fragrance was overwhelming and they said it was wonderful. I thought westerners always found India Chai a bit to fragrant and sweet - but apparently I was wrong. So today I am going to share my secret for a perfect cup of tea - there are hundreds of ways people make tea in India and every household has its own style - the one I going to share with you is my Mum's - she loves her tea. Hope you all try it.

Note - you can either use a whole cup of milk , or 1/2 milk 1/2 water I like to use 1 full cup of milk.

I cup Milk
1 cardoon pod
1 clove
1 small chunk of raw ginger
2 tsp of Assam chai leaves or any other tea you may have tea bags would do as well
sugar to taste - I add 2 tsp to mine
saffron

Using a mortar and pestle ground the cardoon, clove and ginger until soft and into a pulp. Mix it with milk and tea leaves and leave it to simmer for 10-15 minutes- leaving it to simmer for a while. Towards the end add a bit of saffron and let it simmer for another minute or so.

Using a tea strainer strain it into your favourite tea pot and enjoy!!