WHEN I’m toiling away at my yoga practice my go – to drink is hot masala chai so on hearing there was a first in chai houses open I went straight there.
Samo Chai in Loughborough is the first tea shop and bakery of its kind to open in the town and is the creation of Nas Chowdhury with confectionary skills provided by his mother Begum.
“Authenticity and accuracy to traditional recipes is key to everything we make from the teas to the salads to the misti, south Asian sweets and cakes,” said Mr Chowdhury.
Offering me a delicate mango fruit salad with blueberries and pomegranate seeds and a hint of fresh mint Nas explained how the Great Central Road tea house is a family affair with everything they can grow coming from what was his grandmother’s allotment.
“As we’re the first in the town we have to set the bar high with fresh, home – grown produce and precisely follow the traditional recipes for sweets,” said Nas.
Although for celebrations such as festivals and weddings mishti, translating as ‘sweet’, is also often eaten at the end of a meal and made by combining chenna, a coagulated by – product of milk with jaggery, boiled and concentrated sugarcane. Flavourings are then added to make delicious rasmalai, roshogulla and the other classics on the menu at Samo Chai.
Seasonal vegetables from the family plot including spinach, peas and potatoes go into the range of street foods such as spicy chana and samosa chat washed down with a fresh fruit lassi or a cup of the house specialty tea.
Finishing the light fruit salad sipping my sweet masala chai for just a moment I was transported back to the heady atmosphere of south Asian cafes as I watched the crowd come and go; Samo Chai is proving to be a lively meet – up point for chat and regional culinary tastes.
Charnwood News 
Leave a comment