Podcast Guest Recipes: Raj Vable’s Masala Chai Popsicle

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp Organic Assam black tea
• 2 cups water
• 2 Tbsp coarsely chopped fresh ginger
• 10 crushed cardamom pods
• 1 cinnamon stick (or 1 tsp powdered)
• 1 tbsp whole black peppercorns
• Large pinch of saffron (optional but highly recommended!)
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup coconut cream
• ½ cup whole milk (for a non-dairy/vegan chai popsicle option, substitute with another ½ cup coconut cream)
• ¼ chopped raisins (optional but highly recommended!)

Instrtuctions

1. Mix Assam black tea leaves with 1 cup water and boil on medium heat for 3 minutes or until the liquid is reduced by half. Keep an eye on it because this happens quickly!
2. Pour all spices into another pan with the remaining cup of water and boil on medium heat for about 5 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half. As with the tea, you want to extract the most flavor, so watch it as it boils and stir occasionally.
3. Strain both concentrates into a pitcher or bowl with spout to make pouring into the molds easier. Stir in sugar, mix well, and let it cool completely. Now you have your chai mixture!
4. Once the chai mixture is room temperature, add coconut cream and milk (if using) and whisk well till everything is smoothly blended and creamy (it’s okay if a few small bits of cream remain unblended, this will taste quite good when frozen).
5. Pour into mold, insert the popsicle sticks, and freeze for at least 6 hours or overnight until solid.
6. If using raisins, wait for a few hours until popsicles solidify a bit, then add raisins gently into the mold, stir in lightly with a small utensil, and refreeze till ready. This will ensure that the raisins don’t all end up on the bottom of the mold.

This recipe was provided by Raj Vable, founder of Young Mountain Tea. From parents from India who drank tea to a grad school friend grad school introducing him to single origin tea, Raj now sources regenerative organic teas from India & Nepal. His mission is to build a sustainable future for farmers. 1% of every purchase goes to launching a farmer owned tea factory in the Himalayas.