Honey Rum Spiced Hot Toddy with Holy Lama Tea Masala

I have recently been down with a cold. When it hit initially, I thought I could cope and get on with life as per normal. How wrong I was! Honestly, without getting too graphic (as I realise some of my readers are of a gentle disposition), I have had burning fever, swollen sinuses, a blocked nose requiring semtex to unblock, and a throat rougher than coarse grade sandpaper…  Not to mention the headaches!

My fever dreams have been truly disturbing. I woke up in great distress, hot and sweaty over the visions I have had… not prophetic, I hope!

Hot lemon preparations, decongestants and painkillers from the pharmacy have all been employed. And when it became clear that poor Him Indoors had suffered cross-infection, the seriousness of the situation became clear. He has never caught a cold from me in our entire relationship. He was FAR from happy. We realised that over –the-counter remedies help for a while, for sure. But sometimes you need to call the “big boys” in.

I recently found on the Tinned Tomatoes blog by Jac, a recipe for an authentic Scottish Hot Toddy. You will find it here: http://www.tinnedtomatoes.com/2015/11/fresh-ginger-and-cinnamon-hot-toddy-to.html

I gave it a try, and will confess it is pretty damn good. However, neither of us are whisky fans. Sorry, dear nation of Scotland, we love you, but we are perhaps too soft, too southern to cope with your noble tipple. So I had to think of another way….

I took my inspiration from India and its tradition of spice. Indian Chai (or spiced tea) is typically flavoured with cardamom, clove and cinnamon.

I have been enjoying Holy Lama’s Tea Masala in my morning tea for some time now. It makes a brew with spicy Chai flavours by just adding a tiny drop to a cup. I wondered if it would help with dealing with colds and flu. Their Tea Masala drops have nutmeg, cardamom, ginger, pepper, clove and cinnamon extracts in an oil base. Ocado featured them as a finalist in their best supplier awards in 2014.

So here is my Honey Rum Spiced Hot Toddy recipe. I used Ron Miel which I bought in the Canary Islands. A dark rum laced with honey, it is smooth and perfect for a Winter warmer. You could use white or dark rum as you see fit.

Thank you to Jac for her original recipe and inspiration for this variation!

Honey Rum Spiced Hot Toddy with Holy Lama Tea Masala

Makes 1 mug

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon runny honey

2-3 slices of 1” of ginger

1 slice of fresh lemon, preferably unwaxed

1 small stick of cinnamon

1 clove, which you insert into one of the slices of ginger

2 tablespoons of Ron Miel

1 very small drop of Holy Lama Tea Masala

Boiling water to top up from your kettle (or saucepan)

Method:

1. Put the honey in the mug. Top up with 2-4 centimetres of boiling water to help you dissolve the honey. Mix well.

2. Now add the ginger, and cinnamon. Stir to disperse the flavour oils and aromatics. 

3. Add the rum and drop of Tea masala.

4. Top up with boiling water.

5. Stir thoroughly, and allow to cool to a drinkable temperature.

GET WELL SOON!

Snigdha has received no incentive for posting this recipe.