Chai

Things have been quiet here for some time, haven't they? I feel like the aftershocks from Covid (and the aftershocks from the aftershocks) have finally settled down. Five years ago I was just about to turn 40, and now I'll be 45 in a few short weeks. As my cousin said it best today, Covid time was all a lie!!!

But I've entered this new quarter century with an odd sense of rejuvenation, and a desire to resuscitate my 'ole blogging self. In addition to playing catch up with dishes I've made over the past few years (some from longer ago than I care to admit), I'm also working with my cousins on putting together a family cookbook! 

Our cookbook will focus primarily on our family's Assyrian dishes, with other favorites sprinkled in. I know we could have used some fancier software/websites, but in the end I decided that a PowerPoint cookbook template would be the best fit for us. It gives us the flexibility of different layouts where we can add as much text or images as we want to each recipe. We can also keep our online version of the cookbook as a living document, and print copies when we want something more tangible. 

It's going to take quite a bit of work to begin to record and test all these recipes, when the direction you get usually is "just add a bit of this and a bit of that." Which means you'll probably be seeing more Assyrian dishes getting added to my recipe list. So let's start with an easy one, shall we?

Chai (tea) doesn't need much of an introduction. It's a staple of [enter ethnic culture here] cuisine, and enjoyed from morning until night. We make chai using a 2-pot kettle system, where a smaller kettle of concentrated tea sits atop a kettle of boiling water. This way every person is able to pour themselves a fresh cup of tea that is as light or as dark as they like. Google double tea kettle for a picture of the setup.

Concentrated tea, ready to be diluted

At larger family gatherings a semaver (we pronounce it "semawar") is typically used. Traditional ones used coal to heat the water via a cylindrical tube in the middle of the water vessel, but now everything you see is electric. 

Here is my maternal grandmothers semawar, where you can see the top end of the coal chamber, though it is missing a teapot that goes on top.

Nana Janet's semawar

It's one of the first recipes I put together for the cookbook, so as promised above, it's being shared on the blog as well. And the cookbook page didn't come out too shabby either, if I say so myself. I'm excited to see how the book will come together over this year!

Cheers,

Jacqueline

Chai, Assyrian style

Serves 2-5 (depending how strong and large the tea glasses are)

Check out this gorgeous post from Cardamom and Tea, where Kathryn shows you how to make Assyrian tea using a full semawar. For the recipe below you'll need a double tea kettle. If you don't have a double tea kettle (where the smaller pot fits on top of the larger one), follow the steps below, but at step 4 simply steep the tea for 10 – 15 minutes in a separate small teapot. 

Ingredients

3 TBSP black tea, preferably rekhana (aromatic) or Earl Grey
6 cups water

Directions

1. Add tea leaves to the top teapot and set aside.
2. Bring water to boil in the bottom teapot on medium heat.
3. When water is actively boiling, pour 1 cup of boiling water into the top teapot, give it a quick swirl, and set upon the bottom teapot.
4. Continue to boil for 7 – 8 minutes.
5. Pour concentrated tea from the top teapot into your glass (use a small mesh strainer if your teapot does not have one built in). Then add boiling water until it is diluted to your preference.
6. Sweeten with sugar to taste or serve alongside something sweet.