Wookiee Hut Cuisine presents: Gorram Cha'i by SuSu, MaceVindaloo Inara Serra, the independent "companion" on-board the freighter Serenity was a Buddhist, as were Simon and River Tam. They were from the key core planets of Osiris and Sihnon, and both were upper class. Others on the boat were Christian and working class; but they all swore and spoke Mandarin and English, and when Inara made cha'i, the smell would permeate the ship. They all knew what it was, and would come running! For the Tams, the smell was nostalgic and smelled of home — a place where they could no longer go. For the rest of the crew, the smell was exotic and expensive, a luxury their families could not have afforded often. Anti-elitists like Mal might have cursed Inara for perfuming his ship, if he hadn't been (not so secretly) in love with her, and would hover about, waiting for an invitation to join in a cup of cha'i. Of course, the whole crew would be there too with mugs in hand, hoping for the same. Inara would always brew enough for everyone; in fact, she took to making a "base" and heating it up with hot milk to serve. She could always make another cup. She knew enough to make plenty, or there'd be cussin' for sure ... like that first time she made it, and Jayne didn't get any (he was late getting to the kitchen) and he hollered out, "Gorram it, gimme some gorram cha'i!" He chased everyone around to salvage his share, amidst hilarity and general good feelings. And so it became the name of this recipe. Cha'i Base 30 to 40 allspice berries 30 to 40 whole green cardamom pods 12 to 15 whole black peppercorns 4 to 6 inches of cinnamon sticks 1-inch / 2 to 3 cm thick slice of fresh ginger, chopped and mashed roughly 5 to 6 cups water 1 to 2 tablespoons black tea leaves 2 to 3 tablespoons clover honey Using a mortar and pestle or a spice or coffee grinder (or if you must, a dry blender or food processor) and mash together allspice, cardamom, peppercorns, and cinnamon. Place them in a large saucepan with the fresh ginger and water and bring to a boil, then drop the heat down to a simmer. Heat for half an hour. Add the black tea leaves and cover the pot to steep for 3 to 5 minutes. Strain the hot liquid through a fine-meshed sieve, or through a couple of layers of cheesecloth. While hot, add the honey, stirring till it dissolved completely. You can jar or bottle this base and store it in the refrigerator. Or go on with the recipe. 1 batch of cha'i base 4 to 6 cups milk, hot Heat up the base. Add the hot milk, whisking or stirring together. Makes 8 to 10 servings. To make one serving of the gorram cha'i ½ cup cha'i base ½ cup milk, hot Stir together in a mug. You can also mix it together, then place the mug in a microwave to heat. Be careful when sipping — the mug will be hot! Disclaimer: All content is made up, and no profit or lucre is expected, solicited, advocated or paid. This is all just for fun. Any comments, please e-mail the author or WOOKIEEhut directly. Flames will be ignored. Characters and situations are based on those which are the property of LucasFilms Ltd., Bantam Publishing, Random House, Bloomberg, Scholastic, etc. and their respective original owners and developers. The rest is this story's author's own fault. This story may not be posted anywhere without the author's knowledge, consent, and permission. These recipes are provided "as is," and neither Wookieehut nor any person associated with the website is responsible for any success or failure of the recipes, nor any implied effects. If there are questions, please email the author. This page is presented by Wookieehut.