cha (ਚਾਹ)

set a cup (an actual cup's worth, not the unit of measurement a cup) of water (ਪਾਣੀ) to boil.
add a small sprinkling of fennel seeds (ਸੌਂਫ). maybe a teaspoon.
boil for a few minutes until it starts to look green.
add about a tablespoon of loose leaf black tea (ਪੱਤੇ).
add enough milk (ਦੁੱਧ) to get a soft brown colour.
crush and add 3 green cardamom pods (ਹਰੀ ਇਲਾਇਚੀ), 1 black cardamom pod (ਕਾਲਾ ਇਲਾਇਚੀ) and optionally a couple pieces of clove (ਲੌਂਗ) or cinnamon (ਦਾਲਚੀਨੀ).
let the milk boil and bubble up. take it off the heat just before it spills over. repeat as much as desired.
optionally stir in some sugar.

Cha is interesting because it feels like an integral part of punjabi culture but is a relatively recent development. Surprisingly, India didn't drink tea much until it was popularized by British colonialists, despite the close proximity to China (where the British got their tea in the first place). Teas were often used medicinally, for example licorice (ਮਲਠੀ?) tea for sore throats (which I highly recommend if you haven't tried it, I'm a huge fan of it even recreationally) but what we consider cha now didn't exist. I don't really have much to say about it, it's just sort of funny.

Bridgerton is one of my favourite shows. In season two there's a pair of sisters from India featured and I genuinely appreciated their representation. They were depicted as people, not Indians, but still retained endearing aspects of our culture. One of my favourite moments was seeing Miss Sharma steeping an assortment of spices in her plain British tea. Little things like that really made me happy.

Posted: 2022-11-13