Ingredients [serves 4]
- 4 cups of whole milk (substitute with low-fat/almond milk/soy milk)
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- ½ cup almonds
- 1/4 cup unsalted cashews
- 4 tbsp pumpkin seeds [or melon seeds if available]
- 2 tsp white poppy seeds [available in indian stores under the name ‘Khus-Khus‘ or ‘Posto‘]
- 2 tsp whole black peppercorns [adjust to taste]
- 7-8 green whole cardamom pods
- 2 tsp fennel seeds [or aniseed]
- 1 tbsp rosewater [use 1-2 drops if using rose essence]
- pinch of saffron dissolved with 1 tbsp of warm milk
- 4-5 fresh mint leaves [don’t use too many else drink will turn bitter]
- Sugar to taste
- Nuts and ice cubes [optional] for garnish
Method:
- Soak almonds,cashews, fennel, poppy, pumpkin seeds, cardamom & black peppercorn in enough water overnight or for at least 5-6 hours.
- Once soaked, drain the water and discard it.
- Tip in the soaked nuts& spices along with rosewater and mint leaves in a blender and grind to a smooth paste.
- At this point, refrigerate the paste if you want to use it later.The paste keeps fresh for 4-5 days,refrigerated.
- For making the Thandai: Tip in the milk, cream,dissolved saffron along with sugar to the taste in a blender on smoothie mode and churn for 3-4 minutes on high till everything comes together.
- Pour into glasses, garnish with nuts and serve chilled.
Variations :
- You can use the cold milk mixture to make a thandai ice- cream.
- Blend it with lots of ice and 2-3 tbsp condensed milk and make a smoothie.Adjust sugar in that case.
Enjoy ! Happy Holi Everyone!
