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:
- Rava Khoya Laddu
- Beetroot Halwa
- Mango Lassi Popsicles
- Makkan Peda
- Gur Para
- Fruit Falooda
- Semiya Coconut Milk Payasam
How to Make Thandai Recipe with Video below:
Thandai Recipe
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
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.
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