Masala Chai Muffins

Masala chai literally means spiced black tea.  Cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, mint, and cloves are some spices used to flavor masala chai.  These fusion masala chai muffins are perfect for any brunch or dinner party.

Diwali is the festival of lights and marks the end of the Indian year (following the lunar calendar).  Typically, houses are cleaned and decorated with colors and candles, new clothes and jewelry are bought,  – and of course my favorite part-  snacks and sweets are cooked.  Most people celebrate 5 days of Diwali, with today being the first.  For the 5 days of Diwali, I will be sharing 5 recipes of some of my favorite Indian inspired dishes.

The first day of Diwali is Dhanteras, where dhan means wealth and theras means thirteenth (marking the thirteenth day of the lunar month).  Typically on this day, Lakshmi, the goddess of money, is worshiped.  My family performs a “Lakshmi puja” where money is cleansed through a purifying ceremony to symbolize the renewal of good intentions and motivations for the new year.

For the first day of Diwali, we will start with the first meal of the day: breakfast.  The idea for these masala chai muffins came to me a couples weeks ago and it far exceeded my expectations.  The cardamom brough back memories of ‘street’ masala chai in India, but to truly get an authentic flavor in these baked goods, I used a packet of Nature’s Guru instant masala chai.

To make vegan masala chai muffins: – sub coconut oil for unsalted butter – sub 1/2 cup applesauce for 2 eggs

Print Pin

5 from 1 vote

Masala Chai Muffins

Course Breakfast

Cuisine Indian

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 35 minutes minutes

Servings 12 muffins

Ingredients

• coconut oil spray
• 1 packet of instant masala chai
• 2 cups wheat flour
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp cardamom
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 unsalted butter melted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup plain lowfat yogurt
• 2 tbsp cane sugar

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 F and spray muffin tin with coconut oil.
• In a medium bowl, mix instant masala chai, wheat flour, ginger, cardamon, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
• In another bowl, whisk together brown sugar, eggs, butter and vanilla extract. Once combined, mix in yogurt.
• Place about 1/4 cup of batter into each muffin cup. Sprinkle with cane sugar.
• Bake for about 15-18 minutes, or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.
• Let muffins cool for about 3 minutes and then transfer to a wired rack.
• Enjoy!