One Teaspoon Of Life: Tea

Lemon Ice Tea Recipe [Video]

Lemon Ice Tea recipe with video instructions. Lemon Ice Tea is a popular Summer non-alcoholic drink made by flavoring cold tea with lime juice. It is served chilled.

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Have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE Ice Tea? Lemon Ice Tea is pretty much the only drink I have outside. Sorry, no soft drinks for me. And I've been adventurous with my ice tea as well, I've tried the rose, the peach, even the hibiscus Ice Tea. But as a loyalist, I keep coming back to the Lemon Ice Tea.

And these are the best day to enjoy a tall glass of ice tea. I love dragging my bean bag to the balcony, bask in the Summer sun while I listen to retro songs and sip on my chilled ice tea. Clean air and no traffic noise are some of the few benefits of the lockdown that I am enjoying.

Lemon Ice Tea isn't necessarily a healthy drink, but it definitely healthier than the bottled drinks you are buying. The sole reason being the sugar content. You get to control the type and quantity of the sweetener when you make Ice Tea at home. While I have used plain white sugar, the not so healthy option, you can easily substitute it with honey, agave syrup or maple syrup.

You can also go all crazy on the flavorings. Don't let your imagination stop you at just lemon. I did just that. I added a few other things to my ice tea that I love. While it would have been more appropriate to call this the Lemon-Mint-Ginger Ice Tea, I stuck to the dominant flavor while naming it. But it does have ginger and mint. Two things I believe make it taste even fresher. Oh yes, the other benefit of making your own Ice Tea - Freshness! Other than the tea leaves, which are obviously dried, everything else you put in there is fresh, so the flavor is so much more pronounced. And if you grow mint on your window sill, like me, it couldn't get any fresher than this.

If you made this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment here or on Facebook, tag your tweet with @oneteaspoonlife on Twitter and don't forget to tag your photo @oneteaspoonoflife on Instagram. You can also email me at onetspoflife@gmail.com I'd love to see what you are up to.

If you like this recipe, do not forget to share it with your friends and family!

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Video Recipe

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Lemon Ice Tea Recipe

Lemon Ice Tea is a chilled beverage made by flavoring ice col tea with lemon juice.

Recipe Type: Beverage
Cuisine: International
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Total time: 20 minutes
Yield: 1 Litre

Ingredients:

1 litre Water
1-2 tsp Tea Powder
2-4 Tbsp Sugar
1 Tbsp Ginger, grated (Optional)
Handful of fresh Mint leaves
0.25 Lemon or Lime

Method:

1. Heat 1 litre of water until it reaches a rolling boil.
2. If using ginger, add it now and allow the water to boil for 2-3 minutes to infuse the ginger.
3. Add the tea powder and allow the water to boil for 3-4 minutes or until it has reached the desired strength. The tea should have the flavor of tea without tasting bitter, hence, the quantity of the powder is less.
4. Add in the sugar and mix well until combined. Add sugar as per taste. If replacing sugar with any natural sweetener like honey, agave or maple syrup, do not add it now.
5. Turn off the heat and add in the mint leaves, if using and allow to stand for 8-10 minutes.
6. Strain the tea. If using natural sweetener, add it now.
7. Allow the tea to reach room temperature and then add in the lemon or lime juice. Adding lemon juice when the tea is hot may turn in bitter, therefore, we are adding it once the tea has cooled.
8. Pour the tea in a bottle and chill for 8-12 hours or until cold.
9. Serve chilled, preferably, with ice cubes.

If you liked this, you may also like:

Kharbuja Panaka

Aam Panna

Indian mocktail made with guava and spices

Guava Panna

Amritsari Chhole

It is time for Tea Lovers like me to get excited, this dark vibrant Amritsari Chhole is cooked along with tea and spices.

Would I skip the chance to have TEA for lunch? Probably not!

When a recipe calls for Tea as an ingredient, I'm more than likely to try it out. There was no way I'd skip making this wonderfully vibrant Amritsari Chhole.

Chhole has always been a house favorite. When we go to any North Indian restaurant or may be just the food court at the mall, Raj consistently orders Chhole-Bature. Just to prove he isn't this predictable, he toys with available options, but eventually we do end up with a bowl of dark Chhole and a spaceship sized Batura on our table. That man, so predictable, I say!!

So come weekend, I made this dark spicy Amritsari Chhole with soft fluffly Puris. To make Amritsari Chhole, you need to soak the dried chickpeas or kabuli chana/chhole overnight. The next day cook it along with spices and a tea bag. It is this Tea that gives it that wonderfully dark handsome look.

I love to try out different types of teas - Green Tea, Darjeeling Tea, Fennel Tea and what not. But when it comes my daily cuppa Chai or Tea, it has to be Assam Tea. That dark bold tea boiled with milk and sugar, sometimes with added ginger is what I crave every morning and evening. It is this kinda tea, dark bold Tea that works best with this recipe as well. Light teas will not impart color or the depth of flavor that Amritsari Chhole is made up of.

If you don't have tea bags at home, just tie up regular tea powder or tea leaves in a small piece of muslin cloth and add it while cooking the chhole. You can make a similar pouch of the spices too and add it to the chhole.

Anardana or dried Pomegranate seeds powder is added for sourness in Amritsari Chhole. If you don't have it (I usually don't), just replace it with Amchur (dried Mango Powder) or tamarind juice. Also, in this recipe I have not used any ready made store bought Chhole Masala Powder, but I've used the Spice Powders that are available in every Indian Kitchen.

If you made this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment here or on Facebook, tag your tweet with @oneteaspoonlife on Twitter and don't forget to tag your photo #oneteaspoonoflife on Instagram. You can also email me at onetspoflife@gmail.com. I'd love to see what you are upto.

If you like this recipe, do not forget to share it with your friends and family!

You can follow One Teaspoon Of Life is there on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Google+ or you can subscribe to One Teaspoon Of Life and receive all the latest updated via Email (How convenient!!)

If you liked this, you may also like:

Chhole Palak - Chickpeas cooked in a palak / spinach based gravy.
Rajma - Red kidney beans cooked with a spicy tomato based masala.
Corn Tomato Bharta - Curry made with grilled or roasted tomatoes and sweet corn.

Amritsari Chhole

Amritsari Chhole is made by cooking Chickpeas/ kabuli chana along with tea, spices, tomato and onion.

Recipe Type: Main Course
Cuisine: North Indian
Prep Time: 8 Hours (Includes chickpea soaking time)
Cook time: 60 minutes
Yield: 2-3 Servings

Ingredients:

1 cup dried Chickpeas / Kabuli Chana
2 medium Onion
2 medium Tomato
4-5 cloves Garlic
1" piece Ginger
1 Tea bag
1 Bay leaf / Tej patta
1" piece Cinnamon / Dalchini
1-2 Green Cardamom
1-2 Black Cardamom / Badi Elaichi
2-3 Cloves
1 tsp Jeera / Cumin seeds
2 Tbsp Pomegranate seeds / Anardana or 1 tsp Amchur / Dry Mango Powder
2-3 tsp Coriander powder
2-3 tsp Cumin powder
2 tsp Red chilli powder
2 Tbsp Oil
1 Tbsp Kasuri Methi
Salt to taste
Water as required
A handful Coriander leaves

Method:

Soak the kabuli chana in 2 cups of water overnight.
Pressure cook the chana along with 2 cups water,tea bag, bay leaf, cloves, cinnamon, green cardamom, black cardamom and around 1 tsp of salt until soft. It took me around 3-4 whistles or around 10-12 mins.
Drain the cooked chana and preserve the water. Discard the tea bag, cloves, cinnamon and bayleaf.
Dry roast the anardana and grind into a coarse powder. If you don't have anardana, you can use amchur.
Grind the onion along with the ginger and garlic
Heat oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds
Once they brown slightly, add the onion paste. Fry until all the water has evaporated and the onion turns slightly brown
Grind the tomato into a paste and add to the pan
Add all the spices to the pan and cook until the oil separates or around 8-10 mins on low flame
Add 1 cup of the water the chana was cooked in to the pan and simmer for 2 mins
Add the chana and salt. Add more of the cooking water if needed and simmer for another 5 mins.
Add kasuri methi and simmer for 1 minute.
Garnish with chopped coriander leaves
Enjoy hot with puris or roti