This Holi indulge in Thandai shake and colourful festivities

Thandai is a Holi staple but this special shake will elevate your festive spread

Thandai shake

This traditional drink with a twist is a concoction of chilled milk, aromatic spices, nuts, and saffron, creating a refreshing and flavourful drink. Infused with the goodness of ingredients like almonds, cashews, cardamom, and poppy seeds, Thandai Shake not only tantalises the taste buds but also offers a cooling break from the Holi festivities.

Ingredients

Milk: 1 litre

Sugar: 3 tbsp

Saffron: 6-8 strands

Rose essence: a few drops

Crushed pistachios for garnishing

Almonds: 20

Cashew nuts: 10

Poppy seeds: 2 tsp

Melon seeds: 1 tbsp

Fennel seeds: 2 tsp

Cardamom: a few

Peppercorns: 10

Preparation

1.Soak the ingredients for grinding in water for 30 minutes.

2.Meanwhile, boil milk. Cool and add sugar.

3.Soak saffron in one tbsp of warm milk. Add a tsp of the saffron-milk mixture to the milk.

4.Remove the skin from the almonds and grind it along with other ingredients into a fine paste.

5.Then spoon the mixture and add it to milk. Mix well and set aside for 15-20 minutes.

6.Strain and add the remaining saffron-milk to the strained almond milk.

7.Add a few drops of rose essence and refrigerate milk for an hour.

8.Pour into glasses and serve chilled, garnished with saffron strands and crushed pistachios.