Cows and Chickens

From http://yogajournal.com/health/15_1.cfm

Warm body and soul with this ver­sion of an Indian classic.

By Lynn Ginsburg

* Four 3-inch cin­na­mon sticks
* 4 tea­spoons car­damom seeds
* 2 tea­spoons dried powdered ginger
* 1 tea­spoon cloves
* 1 tea­spoon black pep­per­corns
* Vanilla soy milk or 2 per­cent milk
* 1 1/2 tea­spoons black tea (Oolong or Eng­lish Break­fast)
* Honey to taste

1. Break the cin­na­mon sticks into pieces. Heat a small skil­let over medium heat until very hot. Add the cin­na­mon sticks, car­damom seeds, ginger, cloves, and pep­per­corns. Reduce heat to medium-low and stir con­stantly, until the aromas from the spices have released and the cin­na­mon sticks have darkened slightly.

2. Imme­di­ately trans­fer the spice mix to a bowl. Grind the mix into a fine powder using a mor­tar and pestle. Work in batches if the mix­ture fills your mor­tar and pestle more than 2/3 full.

3. For each large cup of chai you plan to make, com­bine in a sauce­pan of appro­pri­ate size, 6 ounces soy milk, 12 ounces water, and about 1 tea­spoon spice mix. Bring this mix­ture just to a boil. Imme­di­ately remove from the heat and stir in the tea, then cover and allow to steep for 5 minutes. Strain the tea into a cup and sweeten to taste with honey.