At one point in my life a decade ago, I was surrounded by steak-lovers which meant, a good number of dinners were at steak houses. And for a vegetarian dinner was a baked or mashed potato, steamed vegetables, corn on the cob and onion rings. But I never once complained – I was so intrigued by the sight of a good looking brown steak, with the perfect dauphine potatoes and a mini jug of brown gravy. I’ve never been a strict vegetarian – so of course, I dipped into this jug with my onion rings and generously poured over the potatoes and veggies! This gravy was a delight for me – I watched countless cooking shows on how to make the perfect gravy from the drippings and wondered how to incorporate this into my cooking.
Well, now I have my solution. I use the Tulsi Green Tea by Chai Diaries as the broth, a basic butter and flour roux, aromatics of garlic, onion and ginger and pinches of spices like turmeric (which also gives a gorgeous colour, cinnamon and a whole star anise to gently infuse.
The flavour of this gravy is… how can I say this correctly? Different is apt. it’s a unique flavour that works with just about anything and stores well in the fridge for a quick fix at any given moment. I like it of thicker consistency to go with my rice and potatoes, but you can make it more fluid consistency for pouring over mashed potatoes!
The Recipe
Serves 1 cup
Ingredients
- 1 ½ - 2 cups brewed tea, room temperature
- 4 tbsp flour
- 4 tbsp butter or olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- 1 onion, crushed
- pinch of turmeric
- pinch of cinnamon
- 1 star anise, whole
Instructions
- In a medium sauce pan, melt the butter or olive oil
- Add the minced garlic, onion and ginger
- Then add the flour and stir to create a roux
- Slowly pour the tea in, whisking continuously
- Then add the seasonings and spices in the stir to create the gravy, cooking on low heat, for at least 10 minutes
- Once you reach your desired thickness, remove from heat and pour into serving jug
- Serve with rice, beans, mashed potatoes, meat dishes, steamed vegetables, grilled paneer etc.
