Turmeric Tea

By Tejal Rao

Updated Jan. 27, 2026

Turmeric Tea
Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini.
Total Time
5 minutes
Rating
5(858)
Comments
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Turmeric milk is a simple infusion of warm milk with turmeric that exists with countless variations in homes across India, where it's known as haldi doodh. The drink might include black pepper, and a touch of jaggery or honey to sweeten it. This hybridized version lies somewhere closer to a masala chai with a dose of black tea and a spoon of fresh grated ginger. The recipe makes two dainty portions, or one robust one, but it's in the spirit of things to play with the ratios to suit your own taste, to use your sweetener of choice and even to replace the milk entirely with almond or cashew milk. Cooking with powdered turmeric is less messy than with fresh, and won't require gloves to keep your fingers from staining. 

Featured in: A Grandmother’s Secret Turmeric Prescription

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Ingredients

Yield:Serves 1
  • ¼cup water
  • ½teaspoon dried turmeric (or a ½-inch piece fresh turmeric, peeled and grated)
  • 1½-inch piece ginger, peeled and grated
  • 1cardamom pod
  • 1cinnamon stick
  • 3black peppercorns
  • ½tablespoon honey
  • 1cup milk (or nut milk)
  • 1black tea bag
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (1 servings)

213 calories; 8 grams fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 28 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 21 grams sugars; 9 grams protein; 112 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a small pan over low heat, add the water, turmeric, ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, peppercorns and honey. Bring to a simmer, then pour in milk, and add the tea bag. When milk is steaming, use a spoon to taste, and add more honey if you like. Pour through a fine-mesh strainer right into a cup, and drink while hot.

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5 out of 5
858 user ratings
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Comments

Monica

You can definitely reuse cinnamon sticks. Rinse in hot water and let it dry. Reuse about 5 x

katmcdraw

To eliminate any mess, freeze the Tumeric root! It grates more easily that way, too. And lasts much longer

Linda

Questions: It seems like one would go through a lot of cinnamon sticks with this recipe. I wonder if they could be rinsed and reused once or twice, or how much powdered cinnamon to substitute.

jkop

Lovely cup of tea on a gray cold day in Wisconsin. I did not have ginger root, so used crystallized ginger from Penzey’s.

Rachel C

Used fresh turmeric and ginger root (vs powder), T is delish, though not as yellow as shown in the recipe. I used soy milk vs regular. Lovey cup of T, and very calming - will make again. Saw a few comments about reusing cinnamon sticks, I hesitate to reuse cinnamon sticks d/t dilution of the flavor from the stick.

Deborah

Basically chai tea.

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