Thandai

Please Note:

There are certain recipes in my recipe repertoire that were made 4 to 5 years ago. I did not post them. Reason being, though each recipe taste-wise was an immense success, the photographs taken at the time were/are terrible. Those were also the days when I rarely took photographs of the entire cooking process. I was quite new to the recipe blogging world and the phone I used at the time was not a high end one. A bad carpenter always blames his tools, well, not always. 😝 As for re-clicking the recipes with props and all, as the years advance upon me, I've grown lazy. 😉 Regardless of the crappy photographs taken, I have now made a conscious decision to put out the work done by me at the time; I realize the recipes are very good and should be shared with you all. My request to you is, ignore the photographs, concentrate on the recipe. Rest assured, when you recreate the recipe in your kitchen, it’ll be a success. By the way, this recipe in my computer files is dated March 15, 2014. 😊

I was introduced to Thandai a few years ago. Ever since, in the summer months, it’s one of my favourite drinks to have. With Holi around the corner and with the temperature soaring what better than a light, fragrant and refreshing glass of Thandai. If you haven’t tried it yet, this is one drink that should be on your ‘must-try’ list.

Ingredients:

1 liter full fat milk
½ cup powdered sugar
A few saffron (kesar) strands

2 pistachios, slivered very thin, for garnish

To be ground into a fine powder:

1/4 cup almonds (badam)
2 tbsp poppy seeds (khus-khus)
2 tbsp fennel seeds (saunf)
1/2 tsp cardamom (elaichi) powder
20 white peppercorns

12-15 dry rose petals (or a teaspoon or two of rose water or kewra water after you strain the milk)

Method:

1. Boil the milk. Add the sugar to the milk and ensure that it’s well blended.
2. Allow the milk to cool completely. Keep aside.
3. Add the ground powder and mix well. Refrigerate the mixture for 3 to 4 hours.
4. Strain the mixture through a sieve, add a few strands of saffron and mix well. Refrigerate and serve chilled.
   
   

 Chef Notes:

1. I had made this for Holi and hence the colors all around the table.
2. Please feel free to adjust the sugar quantity as suited to your palate.
3. I used full fat milk but feel free to go with regular milk if your diet warrants it.
4. You may share the direct blog-link of the recipe/s but do NOT publish my recipes and my photographs on any blog-site or website without my explicit consent or attempt to pass off my recipe/s as your own. You will be held accountable for plagiarism.