Thandai is a yummy & flavourful refreshing drink made by blending milk with pasted or powdered nuts. Thandai is a natural & tasty body coolant that is commonly made on Holi, Shivarathri and in summer. Thandai Recipe is explained in this post in 2 ways with step by step pictures & video.
Thandai Powder with which we can make Instant Thandai just by adding mix to milk is my recommended way of refreshing the body in summer instead of caffeinated drinks.
About Thandai
Thandai is a traditional milk based healthy drink that is offered to God for Holi& consumed widely in North India during summer as it is an excellent coolant. Thandai, Lassi, Buttermilk, Sambaram, takes turn at our home to beat the heat of the summer.
Thandai gets its coolant nature from the KhusKhus which is known for soothing & coolant effects. Thandai is the tasty form of KhusKhus which boosts the immune system, clears acne and promotes skin health and calms the mind.
Why Thandai should be Homemade?
Taste &Cost – Thandai made at home is fresh, tastier, nuttier & flavourful and comes half the cost of store bought Thandai powders. Thandai powder available at stores may be added with more of seeds & essence than using the nuts or the ingredients.
Thandai Recipe – Traditional & Instant Versions
Thandai Recipe can be made in wet paste & dry powder versions. I have shared both the versions here for your reference and to try both of them! In the paste version, the nuts & spices are first soaked and grinded to paste by addition of water and then blended with milk. In the powder version, the nuts are grind to coarse powder and then blended with milk. The powder version gets the Thandai powder which is the Instant Version of making Thandai just by adding the Thandai powder to the milk.
Thandai Ingredients
- Nuts: Badam / Almonds & Pistachios (unsalted) are used in the making of Thandai. Badam is preferred to be blanched (peeled) before use. To blanch Badam easily, soak it in hot water for 30 minutes or heat badam with water to a rolling boil and when we squeeze the badam, the skin will come off fully easily! If you do not mind the slight bitterness of the badam skin, you need not soak or peel off the skin. Pistachios make the drink tastier and can be skipped or replaced or added with cashews, walnuts based on your inventory. Muskmelon, water melon seeds also could be added to make more cooler Thandai!
- Rose (Dried) / Rose Essence: Dried rose petals are commonly added to make Thandai. You can replace it with rose essence which is commonly available in supermarkets. Garnishing with rose petals, nuts & saffron make Thandai more appealing.
- Saffron, Cardamom: Saffron gets the flavours & beautiful color to Thandai. Kashmiri saffron is one of the best in the world and available in lots in India. Use genuine branded saffron strands as there are lot of duplicate ones. Cardamom is powdered and added for flavours.
- Spices: Pepper corns, Fennel Seeds and KhusKhus (poppy seeds) are added in Thandai for making Thandai refreshing, spicy & filling.
- Milk: Use fresh milk that is not skimmed or toned or processed. However if you do not have access to fresh milk, get full cream milk as the 1st preference and other options like toned milk if you do not have choice.
- Sugar: Add regular white sugar for this recipe – for more sweetness you can replace it with condensed milk too.
Thandai Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 liter milk
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp saffron
- 2 drops rose essence
To grind to a paste:
- 2 tbsp almonds
- 1 and 1/2 tbsp cashews
- 1 tbsp poppy seeds
- 1 tbsp fennel seeds
- 4 nos cardamom powder
- 1/4 tsp peppercorns
- 2 tbsp melon seeds
- 2 tbsp pistachios
Instructions
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Take all the ingredients listed under ‘to soak and grind’ in a bowl.
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Add water to it.
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Set aside for 1 hour, keep it covered.
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Transfer to a mixer jar.
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Grind it to a fine paste. Set aside.
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Boil milk, simmer for 2 mins.
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Add saffron to it.
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Let it simmer until the color changes. It takes atleast 7-10 mins.
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Add sugar to it.
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Give a quick mix.
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Simmer fo 3-5 mins then switch off.
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Keep aside for it to become warm.
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When it is still warm add the prepared paste.
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Whisk well so that no lumps are formed.
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Set aside for atleast an hour for all the flavours to steep in the saffron milk.
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After an hour or so drain using a metal strainer.
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Mix it well with a laddle.
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Repeat to finish. Discard the remains.
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Add few drops rose essence to it and mix it well.Thandai is ready. Chill this and serve along with chopped nuts and saffron.
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Enjoy chilled thandai.
Notes
- After the spice mix is added to milk give little resting time for Thandai to get blended well with milk.
- You can even add dried rose petals. Rose water is optional but gives a great flavour to the drink.
- At the time of serving, pour into serving glasses, add crushed pistachios and saffron as garnish.
- Always serve chilled.
How to make Thandai
1.Take all the ingredients listed under ‘to soak and grind’ in a bowl.
2.Add water to it.
3.Set aside for 1 hour, keep it covered.
4.Transfer to a mixer jar.
5.Grind it to a fine paste. Set aside.
6.Boil milk, simmer for 2 mins.
7.Add saffron to it.
8.Let it simmer until the color changes. It takes atleast 7-10 mins.
9.Add sugar to it.
10.Give a quick mix.
11.Simmer fo 3-5 mins then switch off.
12.Keep aside for it to become warm.
13.When it is still warm add the prepared paste.
14.Whisk well so that no lumps are formed.
15.Add few drops rose essence to it and mix it well. Set aside for atleast an hour for all the flavours to steep in the saffron milk.
16.After an hour or so drain using a metal strainer.
17.Mix it well with a laddle.
18.Repeat to finish. Discard the remains.
19.Thandai is ready. Chill this and serve along with chopped nuts and saffron.
Enjoy chilled thandai.
Expert Notes
- After the spice mix is added to milk give little resting time for Thandai to get blended well with milk.
- You can even add dried rose petals. Rose water is optional but gives a great flavour to the drink.
- At the time of serving, pour into serving glasses, add crushed pistachios and saffron as garnish.
- Always serve chilled.
Variations
- Blend thandai powder, curd,sugar and milk in a mixer jar to make Thandai Lassi
- Freeze Thandai in mold for Thandai Popsicle
- Blend any of the fruit – mango pulp / strawberry / pineapple / litchi& add to the Thandai for Fruit Thandai (Do not add citrus fruits as it will curdle the milk)
- Add Chocolate shavingsto the nuts mix or chocolate syrup to milk to make Chocolatey Thandai
- Add Chia seeds to the milk to make more cooler Thandai
Serving & Storing Suggestions
Serve Thandai chilled! However if you wish to enjoy hot – go for it! Thandai stays good for a week when refrigerated. Make Thandai powder in bulk & use it as an instant mix for a month use.
FAQs
1.What is Thandai?
Thandai is a yummy & flavourful refreshing drink made by blending milk with pasted or powdered nuts. Thandai is a natural & tasty body coolant that is commonly made on Holi, Shivarathri and in summer.
2.How to make Thandai & Instant Thandai?
Thandai can be made fresh by grinding the nuts & spices to paste & then blending with milk and garnished with nuts, saffron & rose petals.
Instant Thandai can be made by just mixing Thandai powder to milk. Thandai Powder is prepared by grinding the nuts & spices to coarse powder.
3.Should I blanch almonds?
Almond skin is slightly bitter, hence it is blanched & used. However it is not mandatory and the skin is very nutritious.
4.Which type of milk to be used?
Use full fat milk if you prefer the malai formation in the Thandai or the regular toned milk if you do not like malai in the Thandai.
5.Are rose petals & essence mandatory?
Rose petals / essence is added for fragrant flavour – You can skip them if you do not like it or have it.
Instant Thandai Recipe
Instant Thandai is a cooling and refreshing drink made for Holi. An easy instant thandai recipe made with nuts and spices.
Instant thandai recipe with step by step pictures and video. Thandai is a refreshing drink very pupular in the northern states of India.
Thandai is one of the drinks made for Holi festival. This is one of the healthy flavouring you can opt for kids. I am sure they will love it.
The word thandai means ‘cooling’ or’ cools down’ which is derived from the hindi word thanda meaning cool. So as per the name thandai is a natural body coolant so not only for festivals, I make this often during summer especially for kids as they both love it.
About Instant Thandai Recipe
To begin with first grind the spices that needs to be sieved, Sieve it and keep aside. Next add the nuts, cardamom and saffron to blender grind it to a powder. Add it to the sieved mixture. Mix it well. Now instant thandai mix is ready. Mix it with chilled milk and serve chilled. This instant thandai recipe needs no soaking and can be made instantly and can be store for future use also.
More similar recipes
Ingredients
- Thandai powder
- Milk
How to make Instant Thandai
1.Take thandai mix. It is very easy to prepare homemade thandai mix check ingredients list for recipe link.
2.Boil milk, simmer for 2 mins. Cool down then chill it for an hour.
3.This prepared mixture can be used for 4 cups of milk. Here I have used 2 cups milk so added half of thandai powder to it.
4. Add to chilled milk. I used boiled, cooled and chilled milk.
5.Mix it well. Instant thandai ready. Serve chilled!
Finally instant thandai ready!
Tips for Instant Thandai
- You can add gulkand for more flavour while serving. In that case reduce sugar a bit.
- Add little more sugar than we usually add. As for chilled milk sugar is needed more.
- Adding cashews is optional but I prefer adding it.
- You can add dried rose petals if you like the flavour.
- You can even add rose essence.
- It keeps well in room tempertaure for a week however I would suggest to refrigerate after that. It keeps well in fridge for about a month.
- You can also add to warm milk and serve, however I prefer chilled.
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