The Lean Veggie - The perfect cup of chai

It took me many years, and I finally nailed it today. I made a wonderful cup of tea. The recipe is really simple, you just need the right ingredients and you can find all this in your neighborhood Indian grocery store.

Indian tea - I used the Tajmahal brand
Cardamom seeds - You can either use the whole crushed pods, or buy a packet of seeds (with the green pods already removed)
Milk - Preferably organic, 2% fat milk
Sugar - Real sugar is a must. Sweetners make the tea taste a little bitter
Fresh ginger - Use a vegetable peeler or a small knife, and make about a teaspoon of ginger shavings (including the skin).

Recipe -

1) In a small saucepan, heat 1/2 cup water
2) Before the water starts boiling, add 1/3 cup milk and stir
3) Add about 6 cardomom seeds (or one pod crushed) and ginger shavings
4) Heat till the mixture comes to a boil and rises. Watch the saucepan very carefully, and remove from heat the second the mixture starts rising
5) Add 2 teaspoons of tea (not heaped) and 2 teaspoons of sugar. Return the saucepan to the stovetop and heat gently for one minute. Do not let the mixture boil. If it boils, the tea may turn bitter
6) Turn off the heat, cover and let the pan sit on the heated surface for another minute
7) Pour the tea through a filter and remove the tea leaves
8) Transfer the tea into a serving cup (when pouring into the serving cup, raise your hand, and pour the tea from a height. This will cause the tea to froth a little, incorporate air bubbles, and improve the taste!)