Thandai Chia Pudding – Rich, creamy, and flavorful breakfast or dessert that combines the exotic Indian thandai flavors with the nutritious goodness of chia seeds.

What is Thandai?

Thandai is a popular Indian milk-based cold drink, made with a blend of nuts and spices. It is super rich and refreshing cooling drink and often made during festivals such as Holi and Shivaratr, as well ad during summers. It is also known as Shardai.

It is typically made by soaking and grinding a mixture of nuts and spices into a fine paste. This paste is then mixed with milk and sugar to make a flavorful beverage.

The traditional recipe needs soaking and grinding the ingredients and it is a bit of time taking. If you don’t have much time, it can be easily made using a homemade or store-bought thandai masala powder. Simply combine thandai powder, milk and some sugar to make your own thandai in no time.

It can also be used as a flavoring agent in a variety of dishes, such as ice cream, kulfi, burfi, cakes, cookies, cheesecakes and many more.

Few thandai recipes on the blog:

Thandai Lassi
Thandai White Chocolate Bark

What is thandai chia pudding?

Chia pudding is a delicious, healthy, and no-cook type of dessert or breakfast dish made with chia seeds and milk. Chia seeds are a good source of high fiber and protein content, and when combined with milk, they absorb the liquid and make a thick pudding.

Thandai chia pudding is a fusion breakfast or dessert made with thandai powder, chia seeds, milk and saffron. The chia seeds are soaked in thandai flavored milk to make a rich, creamy and aromatic pudding.

It is a nutritious and wonderful dish that’s perfect for any occasion.

Why you’ll love this recipe:

Super easy and quick to make!

A great source of protein and antioxidants.

Requires only a few ingredients and minimal preparation

Perfect to make during festivals such as Holi and Diwali.

Very aromatic!

Ingredients:

Milk – You can use any type of milk, such as dairy milk, almond milk, oat milk, or coconut milk. You can also use low-fat or skimmed milk if you prefer lighter version of the chia pudding.

Sweetener – I have used sugar in this recipe, but you could use any of your favorite sweeteners, such as maple syrup, date paste, honey or agave.

Thandai Powder – I would recommend using homemade thandai powder for a better flavor and taste. You can also use store-bought powder.

Chia Seeds – These are the main ingredient, they help thicken the pudding. You can use white or black chia seeds.

Saffron – It gives a wonderful flavor and color to the pudding. You can skip it if you want.

Nuts & Rose Petals – You can top your chia pudding with any chopped nuts and dried rose petals. You could also add some chopped fresh fruits on top for added taste and nutrition.

Storage suggestions:

This will keep in the refrigerator for a couple of days. If you want to store it for longer, freeze it for up to a month.

If you are adding any toppings like fresh fruits or nuts, add them just before serving. Otherwise, they will turn into soggy or mushy in the pudding.

Serving suggestions:

Serve it as breakfast, snack or dessert. This recipe is so versatile and can be enjoyed at any time of the day.

Top it with any of your favorite toppings like fruits, nuts, honey and chocolate.

It tastes best when served chilled.

Can I make this with leftover thandai?

Absolutely! Using leftover thandai to make Chia Pudding is a lovely way to use up leftovers. Simply replace the milk with leftover thandai drink, and skip adding thandai powder and sugar since the leftover drink already contains those ingredients.

Tips & Notes

To adjust the sweetness, add more or less sweetener according to your taste.

For a stronger thandai flavor, increase the amount of powder in the recipe.

The thandai powder already has cardamom in it. If you prefer more cardamom flavor, you can add a small amount of ground cardamom to the pudding.

You can also decorate it with edible silver foil to make the dish festive and more elegant.

Step by step instructions:

Soak a pinch of saffron in 1 tablespoon of hot milk and set it aside for few minutes.

In a small mixing bowl or cup, combine the milk, sugar, and saffron milk.

Then add thandai masala powder and mix everything well.

Add more sweetener and thandai powder if you want. Now the thandai is ready.

Add chia seeds to the prepared flavored milk.

Mix everything until well combined and refrigerate for 1-3 hours or until set.

Once it is set, remove from the refrigerator and give it a mix.

Transfer it to the serving bowls or glasses and top it with nuts.

Serve chilled.

How to make thandai chia pudding recipe video below: