Chocolate Masala Chai

My husband and I were recently at Max Brenner in Vegas. Their tag line "Creating a New Chocolate Culture Worldwide" immensely appealed to my husband. He will readily support anyone with such a noble goal. Many of their dishes sneak in chocolate, and so they are understandably luscious and awesome. But even those dishes that are spared from a chocolate invasion are really really good. Highly recommended place to indulge.

My husband ordered their chocolate chai and enjoyed it to the last sip. I had to fight to taste 1 fluid ounce of it, and I was amazed at how mild yet flavorful it was. For one, I expected the chocolate to overpower the chai, but no, it was very delicate and mild. And there were so many spices in the tea decanter that even a spice-obsessed Indian like me found it incredulous that so many spices were used to brew a perfectly balanced cup of chocolate laced tea.

Max Brenner's Chocolate Chai with my husband closely guarding it from me

So, here is my humble recreation of their chocolate chai.

Ingredients (serves 2):

1. 3-4 teaspoons black tea (depending on how "strong" you want the tea)
2. 1 teaspoon grated ginger
3. 1 clove
4. 2 pods of cardamom
5. 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
6. a small piece of cinnamon (1/2 inch or so)
7. 1/3 cup white chocolate chips

Preparation:

1. Crush and combine together the ginger, clove, cardamom (with the husk), cinnamon and nutmeg. A mortar and pestle is very handy to do this.
2. Add the black tea and crushed spices to a medium sauce-pan. Pour in 1.5 cups of water and bring everything to a boil. Takes about 7-10 minutes on medium heat. 
3. While the tea is seeping/heating, melt the white chocolate chips. I melt them by microwaving in 20 second intervals and stirring until they are smooth. You could also directly add them to the hot chai and whisk. 
4. Strain the steeped/boiled chai. Add the melted chocolate (or the whole chocolate chips) and whisk vigorously until the chocolate is evenly mixed into the chai. 
5. Pour into glasses/mugs and serve!

The white chocolate flavor subtly wafts through the aromatic spices. Depending on how you like your tea, adjust the proportion of spices and chocolate.