Mahanandi

Living in Consciousness ~ Indi(r)a’s Food and Garden Weblog

Flavors of Life: Infini-tea


Flavors of Life: Infini-tea
Painting by Sree (Colored Pencils on Paper)

I actually have ALL these flavors of tea in my pantry! The lemon/mandarin flavors are quite refreshing. The berries are better drunk with ice and the choco-vanilla ones with milk. I haven’t figured out how the tropical ones go. Its ‘pretea’ complicated you know. Some (green tea) are to be ‘infused’ and mixed, others plain boiled… The other day I served hot peppermint tea to my old uncle, a connoisseur of beverages and he said “we can do without that one.” Wasn’t Tea supposed to be a refreshing beverage? Like Lipton Taaza… But I even have a ‘SLEEPYTIME’ tea! I am certain it won’t be long before we have coffee flavored tea. 🙂
By the way there is a tea parlor by the name Infinitea in Bangalore.

~ Sree

Flavors of Life: Introduction
Flavors of Life, Previously:

Banana Vendor by Sree Pumpkin Blossom by Sree Cotton Candy Painting by Sree Tirupathi Laddus by Sree

Posted by Indira©Copyrighted in Sree,Tea (Saturday March 15, 2008 at 12:51 am- permalink)
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Pudina Chai with Gunpowder Tea

Mint Leaves with Gunpowder Tea
Fresh Pudina (Mint) Leaves and Gunpowder Tea

In the midst of pressure-packed day, there is nothing like taking a breather with a warm cup of chai.

I wanted something new that would relax and refresh. Pudina chai sounded soothing.

A glass of water, a teaspoon of gunpowder tea, six freshly plucked pudina leaves and few drops of milk. Ten minutes of gentle simmering on stove-top and then straining out the seeped pudina-tea mixture. There it is, pudina chai sweetened with honey. My ॐ for today.

Pudina Tea
A Cup of Pudina Chai to Refresh the Senses

Tea Finds:
Daily Ritual ~ A Cup of Chai
North African Mint Tea (Without Milk)
Green Tea (Gunpowder or Pearl tea) Health Benefits

Posted by Indira©Copyrighted in Amma & Authentic Andhra,Mint,Tea (Friday March 14, 2008 at 6:10 pm- permalink)
Comments (1)

The New Home of Mahanandi: www.themahanandi.org

Sonti Tea (Tea with Dried Ginger or Chukku)

“Not feeling hungry today?
I will make a cup of sonti tea for the appetite.”

“Ate too much food at the party?
Would you want me to prepare sonti kashayam for better digestion?”

“Food was not good yesterday at the restaurant. My stomach is upset
Have a cup of sonti tea to calm the over working stomach.”

“I am tired and feeling little bit nauseous after the long day of shopping.
You sit there and rest. I will bring a hot cup of sonti coffee for you.”

“My head is hurting with this cold and cough.
There, there, have this cup of hot sonti tea. By tomorrow, you will be like a daisy.”

Sonti Powder and Sonti
Sonti Powder, Dried Ginger (Sonti), and Fresh Ginger

For everything and anything, sonti is the treatment at my home. Sonti tea, Sonti coffee and Sonti kashayam are prescribed to cure and to relieve almost all types small ailments from stomach upsets to cold and cough. Most of the time, they work fine.

Sonti, the dried form of ginger root is equally given importance along with fresh ginger in Ayurveda for its healing properties. Though sonti looks mild and all dried out, it has all the fresh ginger potency and some. When added in small doses, the strong sonti flavor and aroma makes the food energizing and interesting. At our home, if you go back to one generation before us, they’ would start and end their day with a cup of sonti drink. For small ailments, whether one believes in capsules pushed on by multimillion dollar ad blitzes or in ancient medicine, what matters is the trust that the stuff we would put in our bodies could comfort and relieve the symptoms. For us, the magic cure-all potion still hasn’t lost its magic.

Recipe :

From just a pinch to a tablespoon of sonti powder is added to a cup of tea. The amount varies on individual preference and tolerance. We like to add a teaspoon of sonti powder to a cup. Not too much, not too little, you would definitely notice the sonti taste.

To powder sonti, take sonti pieces in a mortar and pound them to smooth powder. We usually prepare powder for one month’s worth and store it in a tight lid box.

To prepare sonti tea and coffee: start the coffee/tea preparation like you normally do. And at the end, add the sonti powder. Simmer or heat few seconds. Pour to a cup and enjoy the tea enriched with sonti powder.

Sonti Tea with Puri and Potato Curry


Sonti is available at Indian grocery shops.
Sonti Recipes: Sonti Coffee, Sonti Kashayam and Chukkuvellam

Posted by Indira©Copyrighted in Amma & Authentic Andhra,Revisiting Old Recipes,Tea (Wednesday January 16, 2008 at 11:00 pm- permalink)
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The New Home of Mahanandi: www.themahanandi.org

Sonti Coffee & Sonti Tea (Dried Ginger Coffee&Tea)

Not feeling hungry today?
I will make a cup of sonti coffee for the appetite.

Ate too much food at the party?
Would you want me to prepare sonti kashayam for better digestion.

Food was not good yesterday at the restaurant. My stomach is upset
Have a cup of sonti tea to calm the over working stomach.

I am tired and feeling little bit nauseous after the long day of shopping.
You sit there and rest. I will bring a hot cup of sonti coffee for you.

My head is hurting with this cold and cough.
There, there, have this cup of hot sonti tea. By tomorrow, you will be like a daisy.

Sonti Powder and Sonti
Sonti Powder and Sonti

For everything and anything, sonti is the treatment at my home. Sonti tea, Sonti coffee and Sonti kashayam are prescribed to cure and to relieve almost all types small ailments from stomach upsets to cold and cough. Most of the time, they work fine.

Sonti, the dried form of ginger root is equally given importance along with fresh ginger in Ayurveda for its healing properties. Though sonti looks mild and all dried out, it is some potent stuff. The strong flavor and aroma are really energetic in small doses. At our home, if you go back to one generation before us, they’d start and end their day with a cup of sonti drink. For small ailments, whether one believes in capsules pushed on by multimillion dollar ad blitzes or in age old medicine, what matters is the trust that the stuff we would put in our bodies could comfort and relieve the symptoms. For us, the magic cure-all potion still hasn’t lost its magic.

Recipe :

From just a pinch to a tablespoon of sonti powder is added to a cup. Amount varies on individual preference and tolerance. We like to add a teaspoon of powder to a cup. Not too much, not too little, you would definitely notice the sonti taste.

To powder sonti, take sonti pieces in a mortar and pound them to smooth powder. We usually prepare powder for one month’s worth and store it in a tight lid box.

To prepare sonti tea and coffee: start the coffee/tea preparation like you normally do. And at the end add the sonti powder. Simmer few seconds. Strain. Pour to a cup and enjoy the tea enriched with sonti powder.

Sonti Tea and Sonti Coffee
Sonti Tea and Sonti Coffee – Perfect for Mistress of Spices

Caution: Highly acquired taste
More about Sonti Coffee – here
Sonti Kashayam (Dried Ginger Ale) – Recipe

Posted by Indira©Copyrighted in Amma & Authentic Andhra,Coffee,Ginger & Sonti,Tea,The Essentials (Monday June 12, 2006 at 10:58 am- permalink)
Comments (22)

The New Home of Mahanandi: www.themahanandi.org

Masala Chai (Spicy Tea)

With winter storm dumping the snow, my brain needed some masala tea. Vijay, my dear husband, makes the best tea and he changes tea flavoring with seasons. For the past week, he is making tea with Indian cinnamon and cardamom.

Cardamom brings the sweet aroma. Whereas cinnamon takes it to another notch and gives the tea a peppery, earthy, bright yet slightly woodsy taste. Heady feeling is what I get from masala chai and I like it.

Tea Leaves, Indian Cinnamon Bark and Cardamom

Masala Chai:
(for two)

1 big glass of water
1 teaspoon of Tea powder
(Preferably, Premium Assam tea, available in most of the Indian grocery shops)
1/2 inch cinnamon bark and one cardamom pod seeds –powdered using pestle&mortar
Milk and sugar or honey to your taste

Pour water into a small pot and bring to a rolling boil. Add the tea leaves. Wait for about 5 minutes. Then stir in the cardamom-cinnamon powder and tiny amount (one tablespoon is plenty) of milk. Mix with a spoon. On medium heat, simmer it away until the color changes from milky white to light brown/tan colour for another five to ten minutes.

Remove the pot from the heat, and pour the masala tea into cups, using a tea strainer to discard the tea leaves etc., Stir in sugar or honey to your liking. Enjoy the hot masala chai.

Masala Tea and in the background, our lunch -Puris with Potato Curry
Hot Masala Tea and Pooris with Potato Curry – Warming up on a stormy, snowy day.

Posted by Indira©Copyrighted in Caffeine,Chicory & Cocoa,Tea (Friday December 9, 2005 at 3:42 pm- permalink)
Comments (19)

The New Home of Mahanandi: www.themahanandi.org