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Zanzibar spiced tea (chai ya viungo)
Home-roasted spice island tea masala and the black tea made with it
Zanzibar is the spice island, and chai ya viungo is its everyday tea: black tea boiled with a home-roasted masala of cardamom, dry ginger, black pepper, cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg. The masala keeps for months in an airtight jar. Milk is optional; serve the tea hot.
- Total time
- 35 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 3
Ingredients
For the tea masala (makes about 350 g)
- 3 ½ oz green cardamom pods
- 1 ¾ oz dry ginger pieces
- 1 ¾ oz black peppercorns
- 1 ¾ oz cloves
- 1 ¾ oz cinnamon sticks
- 1 ¾ oz whole nutmegabout 7
For 3 cups of tea
- 3 ¼ cups water
- 3 tsp black tea leaves
- 3 tsp sugaror to taste
- ½ cup milk (optional)
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Roast 3 ½ oz green cardamom pods, 1 ¾ oz dry ginger pieces, 1 ¾ oz black peppercorns, 1 ¾ oz cloves, 1 ¾ oz cinnamon sticks and 1 ¾ oz whole nutmeg in a heavy pan on a low heat for 15–20 minutes, stirring often.
18 minStep 2: When cool, grind to a fine powder. Store in an airtight container.
Step 3: To make the tea, bring 3 ¼ cups water to the boil with 3 tsp black tea leaves, 1 teaspoon of the tea masala and 3 tsp sugar and let it boil for a few minutes.
5 minStep 4: Add ½ cup milk if you like and bring back to the boil.
Step 5: Strain and serve hot.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 35 kcal
- Protein
- 1 g
- Carbs
- 8 g
- Fat
- 1 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does zanzibar spiced tea (chai ya viungo) take?
- About 35 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 3 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of green cardamom pods?
- A pinch of ground cardamom per 2 pods.
- What can I use instead of black peppercorns?
- Ground black pepper, a little less than the amount.
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