Riced Tea (Chai Horchata)
- 1/2 cup rice
- 1 1/4 cups boiling water
- chai tea, loose or in bags, double the amount you would usually use for 1c water
- 1 cup cold water (or milk if you want extra creaminess)
- Find a container with a lid that can hold hot liquid and will fit both the tea and the rice. A pint-size ball jar works well. Put your tea bags, or loose tea in a tea strainer, in the container and add the boiling water. Steep the tea for a few minutes to make a nice, strong brew. I used Tea Forte's loose Bombay Chai, a heaping tablespoon, and let it steep for at least 10 minutes. It's alright if the water cools down.
- Take out the tea and add the rice. Close the container and leave it on the counter for at least a few hours, or overnight. For brown rice, I left it for about 9 hours and it worked; I left the long-grain white rice for about 5 1/2 hours and that was enough, although longer would have been fine as well.
- Pour the rice and tea into a blender jar and blend until the rice is finely ground (I used an immersion blender). Strain the mixture: I poured it all into a dampened bandana, twisted up the corners, and slowly squeezed it to get out as much liquid as possible. A fine mesh sieve might do if you don't mind some graininess. Otherwise, a few layers of cheesecloth should do the trick. Add the cold water (or milk for a bit more creaminess, although I like it with the water) and molasses and stir. Serve over ice, or chill in the fridge and serve cold if you'd rather not dilute it further. It will separate a bit as the rice/starch settles, but a quick stir will remix it nicely.
- (If you save the strained-out ground rice, you can use it to make a lovely spiced porridge: I cooked it with some oatmeal and par-cooked quinoa and it was quite tasty. Cream of rice, so to speak.)
rice, boiling water, chai tea, cold water
Taken from food52.com/recipes/20844-riced-tea-chai-horchata (may not work)