My wife has enjoyed chai, I think, for as long as we’ve both been eating Indian food, which is a pretty long time. The first time I had Indian food, which was in Columbus, Ohio—it hadn’t reached Nashville yet—the beverage was mango lhassi. It was delicious but I wish I could go back and order chai, if it had even been on the menu. I don’t remember what the main dish was, but I think it was chicken tikka masala, which isn’t technically Indian—some sources say it was invented in Glasgow of all places, but probably by a chef from Bangladesh or Pakistan, but I do remember it was tasty.
Anyway my wife has tried for years to find a chai recipe she liked that she could make at home, including mixing her own, but only recently found one that’s as good as what we’ve had in restaurants. And sometimes I make it which leads to conversations like this:
Me: This chai didn’t turn out right. I guess I could…
Wife: I’m stopping you before you say “chai again”.
Me: Chai harder.
Wife: You’re on thin ice.
Me: Chai another day.
Wife: You’re chai-ing my patience.
Me: Tomorrow never chai’s.
Wife: That’s enough.
Me: The chai who loved Me.
Wife: I said…
Me: Live and let chai.
Wife: Get out.
And then the company that makes her chai blend sent her the “get rich or chai tryin’” sticker. I can’t get away with it but they can. Fair enough—they’re professional chai makers and I’ll leave the puns to them because they’re better at those too. For me, I’ve got no time to chai.
Source: giphy
I was watching the newest animated Spider-man movie (“Across the Spider-verse”) on my flight – it was actually very good! But there was Indian Spider-man who chastised Brooklyn Spider-man: “There is no such thing as chai tea! It’s like saying coffee coffee!” which may not be an exact quote but quite amusing…
Val recently posted…One Last Duty to Perform
That’s hilarious. I think I sometimes hear people say “chai tea”. When I was in Russia I learned “chai” is the Russian word for tea–regular tea, although they sometimes add a big dollop of jam to it, which may sound strange but is really tasty. Anyway I’m always very conscious of only saying “chai” and never “chai tea”, so Indian Spider-Man can’t scold me.
I like a good cup of chai every so often as well. Tandoori chicken—that’s my fave!
Tandoori chicken is one of my favorites–I also like saag and, well, pretty much all Indian food I’ve ever tried. There’s a place just two blocks from my office that does an Indian lunch buffet. The tandoori chicken is always at the far end and I have to remember not to fill my plate before I get there.
In Hebrew, Chai means “life,” but the “CH” is pronounced differently, like Chanukah, Chris. Long life to you and your wife and I’m so glad whenever I can say Chai, my friend.
And I thought this post was Tea-riffic.
ANN J KOPLOW recently posted…Day 3967: You can be anything you want to be
Thank you for reminding me that I learned “L’chaim”, “To life!” from a rabbi who was talking to a group of parents about the heartbreak of tenn suicide. It was such a beautiful and profound statement and a reminder of how much we need to value life, especially at the worst times.