New Delhi, May 27 -- Tea time is one of India's most beloved and deeply ingrained daily rituals. Across generations and geographies, the evening chai is a pause from the day, a moment of warmth, and an occasion to reach for something fried, oily, or heavily processed. From chakli and bhujia to cream biscuits and namkeen, the snacks that accompany chai are rarely doing our gut any favours. But you do not have to give up the ritual. You need to rethink the plate's companion.

5 healthy snacks for tea time

"The 4 pm chai break is the most emotionally charged eating moment in an Indian household. It is tied to comfort, to habit, to memory, which is exactly why what you eat in that window matters more than people realise. Your gut is not on a...