Thandai (Holi Special)

Holi is a Hindu festival of colours, celebrated on a full moon (usually in month of March).  It marks the end of winters and arrival of spring season in India.

It is a two-day celebration.  Lighting a bonfire on the previous night followed by playful colour smearing,  accompanied with holi songs.   The air is filled with clouds of vibrant red, blue, yellow and greens.

The festive spread  too is quite delish.   

Gujjia is quite popular, a sweet dumpling deep fried in ghee,   malpua – sweet rich pancakes,   puran-poli – jaggery and bengal gram stuffed  sweet flatbread and most popularly tall glasses of bhang – made from cannabis. 

When it comes to beverage – Thandai is very popular drink and is a must-have during Holi celebrations.

If you haven’t tried this drink yet, you must now.  In some parts of India (specially the north) they cannot skip this one during the colourful celebration.

Take a look at what goes into the thandai masala. 👇🏻

This is the thandai ready-mix you can prepare before the day of Holi.

The flavours of thandai are a combination of sweet and spicy.  If you manage to nail the thandai powder recipe, there are umpteen recipes you can flavour with it.

Honestly, after tasting this drink, I decided to have it all throughout summers for its cooling and super-refreshing properties.

THANDAI PRE-MIX

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup almonds or badam
• 1/4 cup cashewnuts or kaju
• 3 -5 black peppercorns or kali mirch
• 10 green cardamom pods or elaichi
• 2 tbsp watermelon seeds or magaz
• 1 tbsp poppy seeds or khus khus/posto
• 1 tsp cinnamon sticks
• 2 tbsp fennel seeds or saunf
• 2 tbsp rose petals
• 1/2 tsp saffron strands
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg powder or jaifal

Method:

1. Take all the ingredients in a mixie jar or food processor.
2. Grind it to a coarse powder.
3. Store it in an air-tight jar.

How to make the Thandai Drink :

• Bring 4 to 5 cups of milk to a boil in a pot. Add sugar as per taste.  Add the thandai powder mix well and boil the milk for a minute or two.  Let it cool down.  Cover and refrigerate for atleast 5 hours.  Give a good mix and strain the thandai.  Pour into glasses garnish with rose petals and serve chilled.Try this awesome drink with a twist of flavours like rose, guava, paan.   You can go entirely creative with this one.
  Do let me know if you have tried a special flavour.  Would love to hear from you guys.

HAVE A HAPPY AND SAFE HOLI !!!

With Love
Deliciously URS

Tips :

• While making the thandai drink, it is best to blend the required amount of thandai powder with a little milk in the mixer so that you get a smooth paste and then this can be  incorporated in the rest of the milk thoroughly.  This is a better alternate than to strain the mixture.
• The amount of nuts, spices, and sugar can be varied as per taste.
• Peppercorns are for heat, I use very few black peppers in the summers. Instead you can increase fennel seeds for cooling effect.
• If you want a vegan version of thandai, simply substitute milk with a dairy-free version like almond milk, soy milk etc.
• The thandai pre-mix need to be stored in an air-tight jar to preserve the flavours.