Thandai - Spiced Almond Milk
Thandai is a chilled festive Indian milk beverage made with almonds and a mix of spices. It is made and drunk for Holi which celebrates the arrival of spring.
Ingredients
- 1 litre full fat milk (I used 3% fat)
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp rose water
- A few strands saffron
- A few more strands saffron for garnishing
- Some slivers pistachios for garnishing
Grind into a fine powder :
- 1/4 cup almonds
- 2 tbsps white poppy seeds (khus khus)
- 2 tbsps melon seeds (magaz)
- 2 tbsps fennel seeds (saunf)
- 15 black peppercorns
- 6 or 7 pods cardamom
Instructions
- Add the sugar to the milk, stir to dissolve the sugar completely and bring to a boil. Take the sweet milk off the heat and add the saffron strands. Allow the milk to cool to room temperature.
- Add the powdered almond-spice mixture to the milk and stir well. Refrigerate this for about 4 to 6 hours. This allows the flavours to infuse into the milk. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve and discard the solids. Add the rose water and mix well. Chill until ready to serve.
- Serve chilled after garnishing with slivered pistachios and a few strands of saffron.