I have a close friend I met through our work with Native Indians of the USA. She worked as a Director of Nursing at one of the larger reservations in the Pacific North West and I enjoyed my man visits to that region. She retired from her job after many years of DEVOTION to the Indians.
She had helped me with two projects that I can think of immediately, the one of educating providers in various towns in Cambodia and the second one, a sweet project of helping young girls becoming educated in Chaungtha, Myanmar.
We keep in touch and from her description, she is leading an idyllic lifestyle by the wild coast of Washington State.
Today as the Sun was setting into the Pacific Ocean, she sent this picture with a very nice note.
i made a mental note to go by this fairly isolated part of the wild coast of Washington state in the near future (after the cold and wind and the rain of the winter)
She wrote to say that she was brewing tea and making CHAI .. ah that spicy drink that brings such sweet memories ..
Chai in Cochin and Teh Tahrek in Malaysia would always bring me back to the reality of life in these lovely places and the unending summer days of childhood and adolescence and rediscovering them as an adult after becoming a traveller.
It was a pleasure to have met Vijayan the tea maker in Ernakulum in Kerala and his wife.
In Malaysia, no breakfast for me is complete without Teh Tahrek and Roti Canai.
ah well.. nice to think of such moments rolling off the canvas of the memories
I am making Chai declared my friend
Where did she learn ? I wondered, but she is innovative in the kitchen if I remembered the long conversation filled dinners at their house on more than one occasion.
Your recipe please ?
I brew 8 tea bags in 2 quarts (almost 2 litres) of water to which I have added 2 1/2 tablespoons of ground ginger, i tablespoon of cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon s each of cardamom, allspice and nut meg. After brewing in low simmer for 30 minutes, i add 1/4 cup of coconut sugar and strain into quart jars. Refrigerate until you are ready, add coconut milk and drink.
Looks and sounds good ..
From India, I would bring Masala Chai powder and in La Habana, on occasions, would bring a mixture of water and milk to boil and then add a healthy tablespoon of the tea. simmer and watch it foam and then add sugar . then try to emulate tea makers of Kerala such as Mr Vijayan above or the Teh Tahrek makers of Malaysia ..
BBC this week had an article on Teh Tahrek and how it brings the various races together in Malaysia. Teh Tahrek regardless of their south indian muslim origins, is considered a Bumiputra (son of the earth) of Malaysia ..
When will I be in Cochin? sooner than you think and I have applied for a tourist visa.
and in KL Malaysia .. a city of so much memories and friends and acquaintances and lovers .. as soon as they relax the quarantine requirements.. I would be at the Makan Kitchen of the Double Tree Hilton Hotel in Jalan Tun Abdul Razak ..
