In most Indian homes, chai does not arrive alone. There is always a plate of something crisp beside it, usually savoury, sometimes sweet. Here is what goes on that plate.
Mathi
Mathi (or mathri) are flaky crackers of flour and ghee, rolled thin and fried slowly so they stay crisp. Methi mathi carries fenugreek and black pepper, and achari mathi is folded around the spice mix used for pickles. A mathi with a spoon of mango pickle is the classic pairing.
Namak para, shakar para and gur para
Namak para are crisp, salty diamonds of flour and ghee with ajwain. Shakar para are the sweet version, coated in sugar with cardamom, and gur para are coated in jaggery with a hint of fennel.
Sev and namkeen
Sev is fine, crisp strands of besan with a medium spice, good by the handful or scattered over chaat and poha. For more crunch, try boondi mixture, masala cashews or masala matar.
Putting together a chai plate
For guests, one cracker, one namkeen and one sweet is plenty: mathi, sev and a few pieces of shakar para, say. The whole range is in our snacks.
The chai
Our masala chai blend is black tea with cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, pepper, fennel, rose and saffron. Simmer it with milk and sugar, then strain it into a glass.
