Yesterday noon I visited Oxygen Blue Cafe at the food court of the southwestern harbor of Male', the capital island of Maldives.
After getting introduced to Masala Chai and Cardamom Tea quite recently in my life - in fact just a week back when a relative home-brewed Masala Chai for a family gathering - I am hooked on it.
Indeed, in addition to Adeni tea from Yemen at Thoum restaurant near the Artificial Beach in Henveiru ward, I have to say I have been binging on Cardamom Tea at Dolphin View Cafe in the carnival grounds on Male's east coast.
So I wanted to see the distinction between the two types of teas. Hence, I ordered both Masala Chai and Cardamom Tea from Oxygen Blue Cafe.
After letting them cool down a bit, I first took a sip of Masala Chai (right side in the picture). Then I took a sip from the Cardamom Tea.
And to my shock and surprise, I couldn't tell the difference! It was like drinking two cups of Cardamom Tea!!
Masala Chai, also known as Masala Tea, is India's most popular drink. Sweet, spicy, hot, and aromatic spices with sugar, milk, and tea gives the ingredients, or the three Cs - cardamoms, cloves, and cinnamon - it's distinct taste. So what could go wrong, I wondered.
But poor me, I just couldn't tell the difference between the two teas. A friend is of the opinion that the taste of cardamom maybe dominant. I am of the view that it could be the aggregate taste of the total three ingredients even if I couldn't distinguish between the two teas.
Anyways, maybe it's not the cafe's fault. Perhaps something is wrong with my taste buds. Or it may be that the taste of cardamom is too dominant as my friend opined.
Whatever it is, hereafter I am not going to go to all that trouble of pursuing the Masala Chai trail all over the Maldives archipelago. I will just go to Dolphin View Cafe and order a cup of Cardamom Tea. Now that can never end in a disappointment for me.
Until the battle is over that is. There might yet be a place unknown to me that might lead me to come to the conclusion that the multi-flavored Masala Chai comes out the winner!
Why don't you try the Masala Tea teabags that are sold? They might turn out different. Just steep it for long in very hot boiled water and later add milk and sugar to your preference. Years ago I discovered that some Indian restaurants served the same tasting multiple masala dishes but under different names. Maybe they were betting on Maldivians being too unaware of the different tastes Indian dishes. Or maybe they were just using unqualified cooks who didn't really know authentic Indian dishes.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great idea. I shall try. Thank you very much for the kind recommendation. I will blog about it after trying it out. π
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