Name: Thandai Recipe
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 80 min
Ingredients: 500 ml Milk; 2 tbsp Almonds ((15)); 1 tbsp Cashews; 1 tbsp Pistachios; 2 tsp Poppy Seeds; 2 tsp Melon Seeds; 2 tsp Fennel Seeds; 1/4 tsp Black Peppercorns ((10)); 2 tbsp Dried Rose Petals; 5 tbsp Sugar; 8 Cardamom; A pinch of Saffron

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Homemade Thandai Recipe – Rich, refreshing and traditional Indian drink made with milk, nuts, spices and rose petals.

What is Thandai?

Thandai is an Indian milk-based cold drink. It is a rich and healthy drink and often made during festivals such as Holi and Shivaratri. It is also known as Shardai.

Ingredients needed

Nuts: Almonds, cashews, pistachios, poppy seeds, fennel seeds and melon seeds are used in thandai. You can replace cashews and pistachios with almonds.

Milk: Whole full-fat milk is the best option to make the drink richer. You can also use low-fat milk though.

Spices: Cardamom, fennel and black peppercorn will give a wonderful flavor and taste to the beverage. Add more or less according to your taste.

Saffron: It is completely optional. But I would suggest you to not skip it.

Rose Petals: It helps to cool down the body and gives a lovely flavor. I have used a good quality dried petals in this recipe. If you don’t have them in hand, replace them with 2 tablespoons of rose water. You can also substitute them with gulkand. You will need to reduce the sugar quantity if you use gulkand.

How long can I store it?

It can be stored in the refrigerator for a day or two.

Few more holi recipes on the blog:

How to Make Thandai Recipe with Video below:

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Thandai Recipe

How to make Thandai recipe with step by step photos and video. A traditional Indian drink recipe with milk, nuts and spices.

Prep Time5 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Soaking Time1 hr

Total Time1 hr 20 mins

Course: Beverage, Drinks

Cuisine: Indian

Keyword: holi recipes, Indian Drinks, Traditional, traditional food for festivals

Servings:

Calories: 282kcal

Ingredients

500 ml Milk
2 tbsp Almonds (15)
1 tbsp Cashews
1 tbsp Pistachios
2 tsp Poppy Seeds
2 tsp Melon Seeds
2 tsp Fennel Seeds
¼ tsp Black Peppercorns (10)
2 tbsp Dried Rose Petals
5 tbsp Sugar
8 Cardamom
A pinch of Saffron

Instructions

Soak almonds in hot water for about 1 - 2 hours.
Soak cashews, pista, poppy seeds, melon seeds, fennel seeds, rose petals and black pepper in hot water for 1-2 hours. Drain water.
Peel the soaked almonds.
Grind blanched almonds and soaked ingredients to a smooth paste using some water or milk.
Bring milk to a boil in a saucepan. Add sugar and saffron and let it boil for another 5-7 minutes.
Add the ground thandai masala to the milk and mix well.
Turn off the flame.
If you want to strain thandai, let it sit for about 50-60 minutes before straining.
Let it cool completely and chill in the refrigerator.
Pour into glasses and garnish with nuts, saffron and rose petals.

Video

Notes

Adjust the sweetness as per your wish.

You can replace rose petals with rose water or gulkand. If you use gulkand reduce the sugar quantity.

Nutrition