Authentic Indian Chai Tea Recipe + Video- Creative Family Interview with Raj from Pink Chai Living
This post and the photos within it may contain Amazon or other affiliate links. If you purchase something through the link, I may receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.
I’m always fascinated to chat with creative people about where they got their creativity from. More often than not, it’s from watching their parents or grandparents perform creative activities. When Karen and I were brainstorming the idea behind Hello Creative Family this was a concept that came up often– Creative parents raise creative kids. We thought it would be interesting to interview creative people and ask them questions about their creative life.
I first met Raj from Pink Chai Living, two years ago. My friend (and Hello Creative Family contributor) Heather introduced us to each other. At that point Raj’s blog was called Pink Chai Style and I watched as she transitioned her site from a fashion blog to a lifestyle site where she focused on living life with an Indian touch. The two of us attended SNAP together recently and I loved watching the wheels turn in her head as she looked at different craft supplies and figured out how she could make Indian inspired projects with them!
Raj is also a huge lover of tea and I’ve been begging her forever to teach me how to make the perfect cup of chai. The two of us sat down together, chatted about creativity and shot a video on how to make traditional northern India tea. It’s a recipe that she learned from her grandma and it’s delicious! I hope you enjoy this interview, video and recipe!
HCF: Tell our readers a little bit about yourself!
Raj: I’m a West Coast girl, who’s heart is always in the homeland; India. I spend my days running a social media marketing business with my husband, my evenings with my 2 kids (an 11 year old boy, and almost 8 year old girl), and my late nights, crafting, cooking, and writing for my blog, Pink Chai Living. I’m also a hopeless romantic and love cheesy Bollywood movies, epic love stories, and deep conversations over many cups of chai.
HCF: When we say creative, you say:
Raj: A way of life
HCF: What or who do you credit yourself being creative to?
Raj: I think my creativity was born out of boredom. I spent a lot of summers with my grandparents as a kid, and they didn’t really let me watch TV. I remember laying in the grass and drawing the shapes I thought I saw in the clouds, or making up stories about being a paleontologist (I really like dinosaurs), or colouring one page a day from my prized colouring book – my grandma was big on saving and conserving everything! I think having all that empty space, forced me to use my creative muscle.
HCF: Have any of your children started to express themselves in a creative way?
Raj: Yes, both my kids were definitely born with the creative gene. My son was big on drawing as a baby,and now he creates his pictures on the computer, and builds amazing things on minecraft, but we try to encourage him to come back to pen and paper sometimes. My daughter is a maker. She sees potential for a craft project in every scrap of paper she comes across. She’s also a fan of mediums that really get your hands dirty; pottery, clay models, and finger painting are her favourites.
HCF: Who inspires your creative energy the most? How do you use that inspiration in your everyday life?
Raj: I feel most creatively inspired after spending a day outdoors, playing with my kids, or reading a really good book. I feel we have to step away from the daily grind and fill ourselves up with inspiration to stay creative.
For me creativity is a way of life. After losing my creative streak as a teenager and young adult, I only found my vibe again when I started blogging a few years ago, so I make a conscious effort to stay creative. When I start to feel burnt out and stressed, I sit down with a pen and paper and start doodling. It’s my happy place.
HCF: How did your childhood impact where you are today in your creative journey?
Raj: As a child I was very creative and imaginative, however, my well-meaning parents discouraged pursuing a creative career and nudged me towards something safer. Unfortunately, that caused me to spend many years of my life looking for my purpose or dream job, when it was always making something, or doing something with my hands. A few years ago I started doodling again, and that little action brought about a surge of creativity, and also a reminder not to discourage my kids from their creative path, so it’s been a sort of full-circle journey.
I’m so glad that Raj got back on her creative path because her blog brightens up my day… and if she didn’t have her blog I wouldn’t know her, and if I didn’t know her… she wouldn’t have taught me how to make her perfect cup of chai tea!
Authentic Indian Chai Tea Recipe from Northern India
- Water
- Sugar to taste
- 2 tea bags or 2 tablespoons of loose tea
- 3 cardamom pods crushed
- 2 cloves
- 1 inch piece of cinnamon
- 1/2 tablespoon fennel
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- Milk
Print it for your recipe box
Authentic Indian Chai Tea Recipe from Northern India
Ingredients
- Water
- Sugar to taste
- 2 tea bags or 2 tablespoons of loose tea
- 3 cardamom pods crushed
- 2 cloves
- 1 inch piece of cinnamon
- 1/2 tablespoon fennel
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- Milk
Instructions
- Use the mug that you'll be serving your finished tea in and pour 1 and 1/2 'mugs' of water into your pot and heat to a simmer. Add in the cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and fennel. Let this simmer for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Add in the teabags and nutmeg and allow everything to boil together for another 1-2 minutes. (Note: if you have some extra time and like a strong tea, at this point you can drop the temperature down to low and let the ingredients steep for 5-7 mintues and really flavour the water, this is optional).
- Add sugar to the water. I add about 1 teaspoon per cup because I like a sweet tea.
- Finally add 1 mug full of milk, and heat until boiling. It's important to bring the milk to a rolling boil to get an authentic chai flavour.
- Strain the tea and serve!
