Thandai with Home made Thandai Masala Powder
Indian festivals are all about rituals,customs, colours and food. Holi is no different- the festival of colors
which brings people together without bringing the caste, color or status in mind.
This colorful festival is celebrated all around the India in different forms but with the same intensity of joy, togetherness and love.
On this festival we not only smear each other with colors but have a gala time with everyone celebrating and sharing the warmth, joy, love and happiness.
Be it any Indian festival it becomes imperative to talk about food. While most Indian festivals involve some degree of rituals, Holi is all about fun, revelry and mouth-watering delicacies. In fact there are some dishes which are part of the celebrations since ages and are considered synonymous with the festival. Holi is incomplete without these traditional recipes.
And the most quintessential drink during this time of the year is 'Thandai'.
Thandai is the Star of the celebrations during these two main Indian festivals,Holi and Mahashivratri.
Traditionally thandai is served with a strong doze of Bhaang in it. As poppy seeds are banned where I live, here in Dubai, my version is without that. And moreover, for everyday use and for children too the one without poppy seeds is good.
Making thandai is a little bit of tedious and time consuming process. It involves the soaking of nuts and spices in milk or water overnight and then grinding them along with a few other ingredients to a fine paste. This paste is then mixed in the milk.
With time becoming a big constraint in most peoples lifestyle and availability of machines which can do an awesome job with grinding, this Thandai masala powder comes in very handy when you like to sip on a chilled glass but have a time crunch. Just make a batch of this Thandai masala powder and all you need is 5-10 minutes to make a delicous drink.
Well, I love the thandai flavor so much that be it winters, summers holi or whatever I can have it anytime. I love adding thandai powder in kheer too. It gives kheer a very unique flavor.
Let's see how to make this Thandai Masala and then will look into the recipe of thandai drink.
Thandai Masala Powder
INGREDIENTS:Pistachios- 1/4 cup
Cashew nuts- 1/2 cup
Almonds- 1/2 cup
Melon seeds- 2 tablespoon
Fennel- 2 tablespoon
Green cardamom- 25
Black peppercorns- 25-30
Dry Rose petals- 2 tablespoon
Saffron Strands- 15- 20 strands
DIRECTIONS:Dry roast everything except Rose petals and saffron.
Remove and cool.
Set aside.
Add Rose petals and saffron and grind everything to a fine or coarse powder. If you like the slight bites of nuts in your masala then make it coarse otherwise grind it to a smoother finer consistency.
Store in an airtight container.
How to make Thandai drink
INGREDIENTS:
Milk- 1 litre
Sugar- 4 tablespoon, adjust according to your taste.
Thandai Masala Powder- 4 tablespoon
Saffron- 15-20 strands dissolved in 2 tablespoons of warm milk
Rose Petals- to garnish
Almond and Pista slivers to garnish
DIRECTIONS:
In a saucepan, add the milk and let it come to a boil.
Add sugar and thandai powder.
Let it cook on simmer for 10 minutes.
After this, let it come to room temperature.
Chill it in the fridge for at least an hour before serving.
Thandai milk tastes best when served cold.
Garnish with Saffron, nut slivers and rose petals.
Recipe Card
Thandai with Home made Thandai Masala Powder
The most quintessential drink during this time of the year is 'Thandai'.
Thandai is the Star of the celebrations during these two main Indian festivals,Holi and Mahashivratri.
Traditionally thandai is served with a strong doze of Bhaang in it. As poppy seeds are banned where I live, here in Dubai, my version is without that. And moreover, for everyday use and for children too the one without poppy seeds is good.
Thandai Masala PowderINGREDIENTS:Pistachios- 1/4 cup
Cashew nuts- 1/2 cup
Almonds- 1/2 cup
Melon seeds- 2 tablespoon
Fennel- 2 tablespoon
Green cardamom- 25
Black peppercorns- 25-30
Dry Rose petals- 2 tablespoon
Saffron Strands- 15- 20 strands
DIRECTIONS:Dry roast everything except Rose petals and saffron.
Remove and cool.
Set aside.
Add Rose petals and saffron and grind everything to a fine or coarse powder. If you like the slight bites of nuts in your masala then make it coarse otherwise grind it to a smoother finer consistency.
Store in an airtight container.
How to make Thandai drinkINGREDIENTS:
Milk- 1 litre
Sugar- 4 tablespoon, adjust according to your taste.
Thandai Masala Powder- 4 tablespoon
Saffron- 15-20 strands dissolved in 2 tablespoons of warm milk
Rose Petals- to garnish
Almond and Pista slivers to garnish
DIRECTIONS:
In a saucepan, add the milk and let it come to a boil.
Add sugar and thandai powder.
Let it cook on simmer for 10 minutes.
After this, let it come to room temperature.
Chill it in the fridge for at least an hour before serving.
Thandai milk tastes best when served cold.
Garnish with Saffron, nut slivers and rose petals.