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Thandai Recipe
Thandai is a popular traditional Indian drink made during festivals like Holi and Mahashivratri. This refreshing drink is made with milk, nuts, and seeds and flavored with fragrant spices. This homemade thandai recipe with thandai powder is gluten-free, vegetarian, flavorful, and delicious!!
Equipment
- Instant Pot optional
Ingredients
For Thandai powder (masala) (makes ¾ cup)
- 40 almonds
- 2 tablespoons cashews
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds khus khus
- 20 peppercorns
- 1 tablespoon fennel seeds sauf
- 15 green cardamom pods
- 1 tablespoon dried rose petals
- pinch saffron optional
For Thandai
- 1 litre whole milk 4 cups
- ¾ cup Thandai powder as per listed above
- ¼ cup sugar + 2 tablespoon adjust to taste
- pinch saffron optional
Instructions
Make Thandai Powder (masala)
- Transfer almonds, cashews, cardamom seeds, fennel seeds, poppy seeds, black peppercorns, dry rose petals, and saffron (optional) to a grinder or spice jar grinder.
- Grind in intervals of 10 seconds each to get a fine powder consistency.
- Thandai Powder is ready!! You can make this powder ahead of time and store it airtight in the refrigerator for 2-3 weeks.
Make Thandai
- In a heavy bottom pan, on medium heat, bring milk to a boil, stirring intermittently to prevent the milk from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
- While the milk is heating up, add some warm milk to the bowl of saffron and mix. Let it soak for 10 mins for that nice yellow color.
- Once the milk comes to a boil, reduce the heat to low. Stir in the soaked saffron milk, white sugar, and thandai powder. Mix well until lump-free. Use a whisk if needed. Take it off heat.
- Allow the thandai to cool completely and then transfer to a pitcher to refrigerate it further for at least a minimum of 2-4 hours (or until chilled) or overnight.
- To serve, In a glass, add some ice cubes (optional), and pour in the chilled thandai as is or strain it through a sieve if you prefer it smooth. Garnish with sliced almonds, pistachios, and dry rose petals, and serve chilled. Enjoy!!
Video
Notes
Thandai Masala/Powder
- Grind the nuts, seeds, and spices in 10-15 seconds intervals to get a fine powder consistency. Do not grind longer as that will cause nuts to release their oil reducing the shelf life of this powder.
- I prefer to keep masala sugar-free and instead add sugar to the warm milk as that way everyone can adjust the sweetness to their preference.
- You can easily double the recipe!!
- You can use sweeteners of choice like jaggery powder or maple syrup, note these will change the flavor slightly.
- Instead of dry rose petals, you can add rose water (1-2 tablespoons or more). Add once the milk has cooled. Adjust to your taste.
- Melon seeds (1 tablespoon) can also be added while making powder.
- To make it vegan, replace whole milk with almond milk or the preferred vegan milk of choice.
- To make Thandai directly in the main Instant Pot insert, sanitize the Instant Pot steel insert, lid, and sealing ring thoroughly otherwise, there are chances of milk splitting. Preferably use an extra sealing ring for sweet foods.
- While the instant pot is switched off, add 2 tablespoon water, milk, thandai powder, sugar, and saffron, and mix well. Close the lid with vent to sealing and cook on manual at high pressure for 2 mins followed by natural release i.e. once the pin drops, open the lid and stir well to combine.
- You can also make it with pot in pot method.
Nutrition
Calories: 117kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 3mg | Potassium: 157mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 4IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 73mg | Iron: 2mg
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