kalakkalsamayal: Lemon-Tea

#LemonTea [ #LebuCha ] :

I have tasted lemon tea at various places in India. The lemon tea made in each place differs in taste and flavor. Each drink happens to be unique which explains the character of that place. The tea I had at Wayanad in Kerala was actually a black tea with a dash of lemon and sugar. The lemon tea made by a staff at my husband's office in Chennai used to be very tasty. He used only the basic ingredients such as tea, sugar and lemon juice. I learned the method of making tasty lemon tea from him. But the lemon tea I prepared wasn't as good as his tea. The secret for the taste might be exact quantity at particular combinations. But two tiny glasses of lemon tea that I tasted at a railway station in Jharkhand was really different and brought me back from great discomfort!! The tea was very refreshing, pleasant and more importantly comforting.

Last year we were transferred and moved from Mysore to Chittaranjan, a township in West Bengal. After settling down in Chittaranjan, we traveled by train to many places in West Bengal & nearby states like Bihar & Jharkand and wherever we went I used to take lemon tea, commonly called 'lal chai' or 'lebu cha'.

My choice is always lemon tea - lebu cha as it gives instant energy and a real rejuvenator. One more strong reason to take lemon tea is because of a situation I faced during a visit to a place called #Madhupur in Jharkhand. Madhupur is a railway junction on Howrah - Delhi main line at a distance of approximately 54 km from Chittaranjan by train. It was in Bengal before partition and then Bihar. Now it belongs to the state of Jharkhand. It was famous among the elite people of Bengal because of its climate and greenery. Many well known elite people of Bengal from Kolkata built bungalows and used to stay for a long period of time during Durga puja and also in winter from December to January. There is a place called 52 Bigha [ Baawan Bigha ] which was known as Holland of India long ago for its natural beauty. The town is also famous for mouth watering sweets and Lassi. We planned to go there on a holiday by taking a local train in the morning by 8 am and after seeing interesting places over there return back by evening.

On one Sunday after having breakfast at home me and my husband reached Chittaranjan railway station. I think it was our first outing after coming to Chittaranjan. We thought being a holiday there wouldn't be much of a crowd. The train arrived a bit late and it was very crowded. We somehow managed to get into a coach. The coach was jam packed with people. First half an hour journey was nice and the train stopped in a station or two and chugged on. Then stopped at a station and stayed put there for more than half an hour. Even though the train was crowded I didn't feel uncomfortable when the train was moving smoothly. The weather was too hot and humid and because of the crowd it was unbearable when the train was motionless at a station. The train again started moving but I was not able to stand on my legs and felt dizzy. I sat on the floor of the coach and drank water. My husband told me in another fifteen minutes the train would reach Madhupur Junction. Some more people got down from the coach at a station just before Madhupur and I slowly returned back to normal. Then our train reached the destination and we alighted from the train.

My husband asked me to sit on a bench in the platform and went in search of a tea shop or juice shop to get some refreshing drink for me. He came back with two cups of hot lemon tea. Usually the tea cups used to be as tiny as that of half of our fore finger in this region.The quantity served might be less than 25 ml. That quantity may not be sufficient for us as we are accustomed to drink nearly 100 ml of tea or coffee at home and also in coffee shops/hotels in Tamil Nadu. That was the reason why he bought two cups of lemon tea for me. As I told you in the beginning after relishing the tea I felt relieved and became energetic. When I was sipping the second cup of tea a cab driver approached us to take us around the town to see interesting places. I regained my full energy back and our exploration of Madhupur began.

Lebu Cha made it possible.

From then onwards I started preparing lemon tea - Lebu cha at home frequently. I haven't searched any recipe from online or asked for its recipe from any person over here. But I have keenly observed how the vendors served tea on the street shops and in the train. The tea vendors come with a tea pot with hot brewed tea. When anyone asks for a cup of lemon tea they used to squeeze in 3 to 4 drops of lemon juice into a tiny paper cup and add a pinch of masala powder and then pour hot brewed tea over it. Its taste used to be a little bit salty [ rock salt taste ], spicy [ black peppery ], sweet and sometimes got ginger taste also. Keeping those tastes in my mind I prepared Lebu cha in my own way and every time the drink comes out perfectly!!

Note : I always use Date Palm sugar [ ஈச்ச வெல்லம் ] to make lebu cha which is widely available in West Bengal.

It can be replaced with Palm sugar [ பனை வெல்லம் ] or jaggery or sugar.

Making Time : 10 mins

Number of Cups : 2