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Chai Spice Mix and Chai Concentrate

Homemade chai spice mix is a perfect holiday food gift! Or, keep it all to yourself, so you can make authentic chai(Indian tea) any time you want! Use the chai spice to make a chai concentrate! That means instant hot chai or iced tea any time! This fragrant and delicious Indian chai masala is my family recipe.

Chai spice, or chai masala as I would call it, is great for gifting. Freshly-made chai spice is much more fragrant than the pre-packaged version! The packaged versions in stores(in the US) are usually not close to an authentic Indian chai spice blend. They tend to be much more cinnamon-y or nutmegggy, while Indian chai spice, or chai masala, is heavier on cardamom.

There are different ways to make chai spice, depending on the region, family recipes, and personal preferences. You can add more spices for different flavor profiles or reduce some based on your preference. This is the way I usually make my chai spice.

I usually make a bigger bottle of chai spice because we use it daily for making chai. Sometimes, I sprinkle it into curries to enhance the cardamom flavor. Other times, I add it to my turmeric milk, and it makes the golden milk taste amazing. You can make a smaller or a larger portion of the mix, depending on your preference.

My chai spice mix usually includes cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, black pepper, fennel seeds, and ground ginger. You can also add other flavors, like nutmeg or allspice or even vanilla for variations. For a simpler chai spice, you can use just cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and black pepper. Fennel seeds deepen the flowery flavor profile of the chai spice, but you can omit them. You can also use fresh ginger when you brew your chai and omit the ground ginger from the mix.

I use ground cinnamon instead of cinnamon sticks, because they can be tough to grind in some regular blenders/spice grinders. If you have a coffee grinder, it might work better, but you’ll want to break the cinnamon stick into smaller pieces, so it fits your coffee grinder. Either way, I provide values for using either form of cinnamon.

You can make the chai spice mix and store it to use, as needed, or gift it. But you can also make it into a chai concentrate, which reduces the time you need to make delicious chai. To make the concentrate, boil the chai spice mix with water, fresh ginger, and loose tea leaves and store that in the fridge for up to a week. Just add non dairy milk and your chai is ready! No measuring each ingredient and no straining needed.

Though, I wouldn’t use this chai concentrate to make chai for my mom. She can just tell if chai is freshly-made. It’s an Indian thing.:) She makes her fresh cup of tea with my chai spice and oat milk every morning, and evening!

Chai spice blend or chai concentrate makes a great gift. It just smells amazing, with the freshly-powdered spices and it’s such a versatile blend. You can add it to cakes, rice pudding, baklava, pancakes, fresh toasts, chai-misu(tiramisu but use chai for the soak!) or other desserts for that amazing flavor.

Why You’ll Love Chai Spice Mix

both the chai spice mix and chai concentrate make amazing holiday gifts for the tea lovers in your life!
or, keep the mixes on hand for your own tea-making
naturally gluten-free, soy-free, and nut-free

More Jar Mixes

Cowboy Cookies in a Jar
Mac and Cheese Mix
Dal in a jar
Khichdi in a Jar – Indian lentil rice porridge in a jar
DIY spices in a jar– Garam masala, curry powder, Cajun blend, pumpkin pie spice and more!

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Summer Spinach Salad with Chickpea Olive Crumble

A fully loaded, flavor packed, protein rich summer spinach salad with an umami-packed crisp chickpea hemp seed olive crumble, nutrient dense greens, and creamy, vibrant tahini lemon dressing. A perfect hot weather dinner. (23g protein and 15g fiber per serving, (gluten-free, soy-free, nut-free, high protein)

This is a fantastically hearty summer spinach salad. It has so many textures and flavors, and it has 80 grams of protein for the entire salad. That’s 20 grams of protein per serving. For a salad!

There is protein from the chickpeas, from the hemp seeds, and from the nutritional yeast in the chickpea crumble. There’s also protein from the tahini in the dressing, the non-dairy yogurt (depending on the brand), as well as a little protein from the greens that you use in the salad. You can amp up the protein even more by sprinkling it with some hemp seeds before serving or adding some of my tofu bacon bits, or other high protein toppings.

fork taking a bite of summer spinach salad with chickpea olive crumbles

The salad has this creamy texture from the dressing, the crunch from the fresh veggies, and crispiness from the chickpea crumbles, which we bake until they’re crispy-crunchy. The umami comes from the olives and the sun-dried tomato, and the refreshing, fresh flavor comes from lemon zest, the cucumbers, and any other crunchy veggies and greens.

It’s just a fabulous combination of flavors and textures. The combination of tahini and yogurt helps mellow tahini’s strong flavor and makes for a rich, creamy dressing.

Why You’ll Love this Summer Spinach Salad

incredible combination of flavors and textures! Crunchy veggies, creamy dressing, and savory, crisp chickpea-olive crumble.
easy to make in about 30 minutes
packed with veggies and protein
naturally gluten-free, soy-free, and nut-free