‘Thandai’, a refreshing drink, is traditionally part of Holi festivities. Some interesting variations...
Thandai Shake
Ingredients
Milk: 1 litre
Sugar: 3 tbsp
Saffron: 6-8 strands
Rose essence: a few drops
Crushed pistachios for garnishing
Grind to a paste
Almonds: 20
Cashewnuts:10
Poppy seeds: 2 tsp
Melon seeds: 1 tbsp
Fennel seeds: 2 tsp
Cardamom: a few
Peppercorns: 10
Method: Soak the ingredients for grinding in water for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, boil milk. Cool and add sugar. Soak saffron in one tbsp of warm milk. Add a tsp of the saffron-milk mixture to the milk. Remove the skin from the almonds and grind it along with other ingredients into a fine paste. Then spoon the mixture and add it to milk. Mix well and set aside for 15-20 minutes. Strain and add the remaining saffron-milk to the strained almond milk. Add a few drops of rose essence and refrigerate milk for an hour. Pour into glasses and serve chilled, garnished with saffron strands and crushed pistachios.
Thandai Kulfi
Ingredients:
Milk: 300 ml, evaporated
Condensed sweetened milk: 300 ml
Thandai syrup: 3 tbsp
Cream: 450 gm
Bread: 4 slices, shredded
Cardamom powder: half tsp
Method: Combine evaporated milk, condensed milk, thandai syrup and whipped cream in a blender along with bread. Pour mixture into a baking dish or plastic ice cube trays, sprinkle with cardamom powder and freeze for eight hours or overnight.
Thandai Souffle
Ingredients:
Milk: 2.5 cups
Thandai syrup: 2 tbsp
Cream: 200 gm
Sugar: 2-3 tbsp
Agar-agar (China grass): 500 gm
Chopped nuts for garnishing: quarter cup
Method: Dissolve the agar-agar in half a cup of water and bring to a boil. Boil the milk with sugar. Strain the agar-agar mixture and add it to the milk. Let it cool. Add thandai syrup and mix well. Meanwhile, whisk the cream till soft peaks form and fold into the mixture. Pour into serving glasses and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or till soufflé sets. Serve chilled garnished with nuts.
