Thandai

This holi was all about home-made thandai for me. Every year I drink cups and cups and more cups of ready made thandai on holi so I was determined to unlock the secret to good thandai and this was it. This recipe is inspired by Tarla Dalal and it doesn't disappoint. Disappoint? Its fantastic and you'll love it too.

Ingredients:

To make the Thandai powder:

1/4 cup Almonds

2 tablespoons Poppy Seeds

2 tablespoons Melon seeds

2 tablespoons Fennel seeds

1/2 teaspoon Cardamom powder

20 pieces whole White peppercorns

For making thandai:

1 litre milk (4 1/4 cups)

1 fat pinch saffron

3 tablespoons sugar, measured then powdered

1 pinch freshly ground black pepper

Bring the milk to a boil and add the sugar, saffron and black pepper. Stir for two minutes till the sugar dissolves. Take it off the heat and let it cool to room temperature, stir for a few minutes to prevent a film from forming on the top. The seeped saffron will impart a lovely yellow color to the milk.

While the milk is cooling, grind the almonds, then the seeds and finally the pepper corns. Sieve them all into a air tight container. Re-grind the coarse pieces. You can double or triple the powder recipe and refrigerate it up to a week. 

To make thandai, add the powder to the milk and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Overnight is best. You can serve it after straining or as it is. 

Serve chilled!