Refreshing Indian drink, Thandai is made with nuts, saffron, rose water, fennel seeds, cardamom, peppercorns! 

This homemade version is so much better than the Thandi you get in stores. 

Holi, the festival of colors will be here soon and I am getting homesick as usual. I do miss home all the time but it’s during festivals that I get terribly homesick.

No matter how much you try, these festivals can never feel the way they feel back home. While I can’t do much about it, I try to feel festive by cooking all the special things that mom would make around this time.

One must make dish for Holi is obviously Gujiya (a sweet dumpling filled with dried milk) and the other is this drink, Thandai.

What is Thandai

Thandai is a refreshing summer drink popular in India and is always served during festivals of Holi and also Mahashivratri. It’s also known as Shardai.

For Holi, bhang (the leaves and flower heads of cannabis) in little amount is added to thandai but my version is minus the bhang since this is what we were allowed to drink when we were kids. No getting high for us!

Thandai is made using a number of nuts and spices which are said to have a cooling effect on the body and hence the name “Thandai”, which in Hindi means “cooling”.

The use of peppercorn, almonds, fennel seeds, poppy seeds along with saffron, cardamom and rose water makes thandai a very refreshing and delicious drink.

It’s a great drink to serve to especially during summers in India when temperatures are 110 F +!

How to Make Thandai

To make thandai you make a paste of almonds, peppercorns, poppy seeds, cardamom, fennel seeds and watermelon seeds.

This mix of spices and nuts is then mixed with milk along with sugar, saffron and rose water.

Once you have mixed in the spices-nut mixture with the milk, set it aside for around 1 hour so that the milk absorbs all the flavors.

Because we eventually strain the mixture it’s important for the milk to absorb the flavors before we do that.

Thandai is supposed to be served chilled, it doesn’t taste half as good when it’s at room temperature.

Remember to use whole milk for this thandai recipe. Yes, you can very well make this drink with fat free milk too but it just tastes so much better with whole milk.

The quantity of sugar and the amount of spices in this recipe can be adjust to taste.

If you want stronger flavors in your thandai, add more of peppercorns that for little heat or more of the fennel seeds for that cooling effect.

This recipe can be made in advance and refrigerated. So if you have a holi party planned, make thandai 1 to 2 days in advance and then just serve at your party.

For me, no Holi is complete without some homemade thandai so I am definitely going to make a pitcher full and enjoy it. 

Method

1- First blanch the almonds. You can soak them overnight or soak in hot water for 15-20 minutes and then peel off the skin. It would easily come off.

2- Transfer the blanched almond to a blender along with peppercorns, fennel seeds, poppy seeds, watermelon seeds and cardamom pods.

3- Grind to a smooth paste. You may add little milk for grinding if needed. I didn’t add any. This is the thandai masala, set it aside.

4- Add milk to a heavy bottom pan on medium heat. Stir in between and let it come to a slight boil. 

5- While the milk is getting heated up, remove 2 to 3 tablespoons of the hot milk from the pan and transfer to a small bowl. Crush saffron strands between your fingers and add it to the hot milk. Let it sit until it gets a nice yellow color.

6- Once milk comes to a boil, lower the heat and add the thandai masala to it.

7- Use a wire whisk to mix it all together. 

8- Then add the sugar and mix until it dissolved. Turn off the heat.

9- Add the saffron-milk mixture to the pan and stir. Let the thandai sit like this for 30 minutes.

10- After 30 minutes, add rose water and stir. Let it sit for another 30 to 60 minutes. This is important for the milk to absorb all the flavors of the spices before we strain it.

11- After it’s been sitting for a while and all the milk has absorbed all the flavors, strain the thandai using a sieve into a pitcher. 

12. Press the solid thandai masala that collects into the sieve with the back of a spoon as you strain it- this is to get the maximum flavors out of the spices into the thandai.

Transfer the pitcher to a refrigerator and chill, preferably overnight. To serve, pour thandai into glasses and garnish with sliced nuts like pistachios, almond, rose petals and saffron strands!

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This post has been updated from the recipe archives, first published in 2015.