Thandai Recipe: How to Make Thandai for Holi?

Time is here to relax, de-stress and create a joyous bond with sweets, thandai and vibrant colours.

With lots of colours everywhere, Holi brings in feelings of sheer joy and excitement. Like any other festival of India, Holi is also incomplete without food, sweets and beverages. Be it Holi traditional dishes like gujiya, pakoda, or mathri: the colourful festival still stays half-done without gulping down the Holi popular -chilled thandai. You cannot complete this fun festival of vibrant colours without a glass full of thandai.

For all those who don't know what's thandai drink? Thandai is a traditional beverage majorly made in the festival of Holi and Mahashivratri. It is one favourite refreshing coolant made using dry fruits, milk, whole spices, rose petals and seeds. People love relishing flavourful thandai, notably when the temperatures are rising high.

In India, homemade thandai is liked more than getting instant thandai masala or thandai syrups from shops. And so, to help you out, here we are with a thandai recipe.

Get ready to add more pleasure and flavour to this year's Holi with this Holi special thandai recipe.

Ingredients for making Thandai:

• 1 cup of lukewarm water
• A glass of chilled milk
• 15-20 almonds
• 15-20 pistachio or cashews
• 2 tbsp. poppy seeds
• 1 1/2 tbsp. melon seeds
• 2 tbsp. rose water or dried rose petals
• 1 tbsp. fennel seeds
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 5-6 green cardamom
• Sugar as per taste
• 1 pinch of saffron
• 1-inch cinnamon

Preparation for making Thandai:

• Add 1 cup of lukewarm water into a bowl.
• Add all the almonds and pistachio to the bowl. If you don't fancy pistachio, then cashew will also work.
• Now add 2 tbsp. poppy seeds and 1 1/2 tbsp. melon seeds to the bowl.
• Add 2 tbsp. rose water or dried rose petals, whichever is available. You can grind the rose petals into powder form.
• Lastly, add 1 tbsp. fennel seeds and 1 tsp. black pepper to the mixture.
• Mix everything well. Keep this mixture aside for 2 hours.

For making Thandai Paste:

• Add the soaked mixture to a blender.
• Now add cardamom seeds and cinnamon to the blender. Also, add sugar as per the taste you require.
• Add a pinch of saffron to the blender. Using saffron is optional.
• Grind the mixture so that you get a smooth paste.
• Now pour the paste into a bowl. Cover it with a lid if you are not using it immediately.

For making Thandai:

• Take a glass and add 2-3 tbsp. thandai paste to it. Add more or less paste as required.
• Add chilled milk to the glass. You can use almond milk or cream milk.
• Now filter the thandai in another glass.
• If you like gulkand, then add it to your serving glass. Now mix it well with the thandai.
• Add ice cubes and stir it well.
• Garnish it with some rose petals or dry fruits or saffron strands.
• Thandai is ready to serve.

Some Quick Tips:

• You can use fennel seeds in more amount if you want an enhanced cooling effect.
• If using gulkand, then reduce the amount of sugar you use in the mixture.
• If you don't get poppy seeds from the market, then use cashews in their place.
• Cream milk or almond milk both are good to go for thandai.
• You can also soak nuts overnight to get a smoother
• Poppy seeds can be soaked separately so that they get grounded easily.

Make your thandai more flavourful and aromatic this Holi by adding Vasant Masala's fennel seeds and black pepper powder. Spices from Vasant masala are well-known for making the recipe more delightful and aromatic. You may also like to read about delicious recipes for Holi.