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Make some chai with Selena Gomez and Padma Lakshmi

Follow the chef’s favourite recipe for a great winter-time cup of tea

In India, chai is not just a drink, it’s sustenance. Recently, on an episode of the third season of Selena Gomez’s show, Selena + Chef, the singer made celebrity chef Padma Lakshmi’s favourite masala chai. Lakshmi instructs Gomez and her family through a quick tutorial on making the quintessential Indian chai from scratch. It makes for a heartwarming watch seeing Gomez add aromatics and tea leaves while she and the family struggle to pronounce some of the names of the ingredients (“Is it car-dome?” “Cardema?”). The most chuckle-worthy moment comes when Gomez admits to never having seen a tea strainer and holds up a rather large variant to ask if it’ll work. She does manage to successfully strain her masala chai into cups, just as Lakshmi’s adorable rescue pet, Divina, makes an appearance. The recipe has all the goodness of a fragrant, spicy chai and the dash of honey for sweetness also makes it the perfect cuppa for your winter evenings. Go try it now.

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