Warm Cardamom Milk

Warm Cardamom Milk

Imagine:  It’s a frosty night with howling wind, you’ve had a long stressful day, and now you need to go to sleep fast.  Hot chocolate seems like an inviting and soothing cuppa, but the caffeine will keep you awake.  Don't drink that.

Warm Cardamom Milk will transport you into sheer ecstasy, and then lull you to sleep.  Is it hard to choose?  This is as quick as coco, and much more luxurious:

 

Per Serving

Buy powdered jaggery in a big plastic jar in Indian shops.

1 green cardamom pod (available in Indian groceries)
1 cup milk
1 to 2 teaspoons powdered jaggery (Indian brown sugar)

sprinkle of cinnamon (optional)

 

Beautiful Granddaughter had an exhausting swimming lesson that ended with a giant cinnamon bun presented to her by her Great Aunt. So I knew I’d have to cut back on the amount of jaggery that went into tonight’s beverage.  You can sweeten to taste.  I went with one spoon of jaggery only!

 

Crush a cardamom pod, and remove the husk. Grind the seed to a gritty powder, and set aside.

Spoon jaggery powder into a deep microwave safe container.  Add milk, stir a bit, and add ground cardamom and the husk itself.  Heat for two minutes.  Stir well.  Pour into a cup and sprinkle a bit of cinnamon on top if you like. 

(You could do all of this directly in the cup, but using a container let’s you pour the hot milk to build up a bit of a froth, which adds to the soothing qualities, in my humble opinion.)

If you prefer, you can also pour these ingredients into a small pan and heat on the stove, it really doesn't matter how you heat this brew.

Serve, and know that this sweet, fragrant hot beverage will bring on the sleep fairies and pleasant dreams --pronto.