Thandai Burfi flavored with homemade thandai powder is an easy sweet that you can make for Holi!

If you have some thandai masla ready to go, then this mithai can be made in less than 30 minutes!

It’s hard to believe that it has been a year already since the world shut down.

I remember in 2020, Holi was earlier in the month during March so we had invited couple of our friends for a Holi lunch. Little did we know that things will go into lockdown immediately after that.

And now a year later, Holi is almost here again and world is still not back to normal. But at least there’s hope and here’s hoping that slowly bit by bit we all will go back to the world  before 2020.

So many things changed in the last one year but me sharing recipes with you all didn’t change one bit. And so here I am back with an easy Holi recipe that you can make for the upcoming festival.

For Holi, I always make a big batch of my homemade thandai powder and then I use it in lots of drinks and desserts. It adds so much flavor to anything that you add it to and over the years I have shared several recipes using this powder on the blog.

So before you start with this recipe, make sure you have your thandai powder ready to go. You can use it in so many things (see more on that below).

This easy Thandai Burfi is made with milk powder and thandai masala. A super simple recipe which uses only 5 basic ingredients and takes less than 30 minutes to make. 

Milk powder burfi is one of the easiest Indian sweet that one can make for any festival. So I have used the same base and to that I added thandai powder making it perfect for Holi.

Ingredients

As mentioned above, the recipe uses only 5 basic ingredients. I am not counting the ingredients for the thandai masala here of course because those are a lot of ingredients! For this recipe, we are using pre-made thandai powder.

Milk powder: the base of this burfi is milk powder. Use full fat milk powder and use a good brand so that the burfi turns out good.

I highly recommend using Nestle NIDO whole milk powder for this recipe, that’s what I always use for Indian mithais. Bob’s red mill is another good option.

Butter: I have used unsalted butter here, ghee will probably also work.

Powdered sugar: this recipe uses powdered sugar, also known as confectioners sugar. It mixes in well and gives the dough that nice soft consistency and also brings the dough together since it has mixed cornstarch in it.

Do not replace it with granulated white sugar.

Thandai powder: obviously we need thandai powder to make thandai burfi. Use homemade or store bought.

Thandai syrups are also available in the market, however this recipe hasn’t been tested with those syrups.

Syrup will change the consistency of the dough since it’s liquid and the recipe will then need to be modified so please use the powder here. 

Milk: this is the liquid in the recipe. You can use whole milk or low fat, whatever you have on hand.

Other than these 5 ingredients, I also use pinch of saffron strands. That adds flavor and color to the burfis but is totally optional. 

Making this burfi is super simple. Melt the butter, add milk, milk powder, thandai powder and the sugar and cook everything on low heat until the dough reaches the right consistency for the burfi.

That’s the only tricky part of this recipe- “the right consistency”. If you undercook the dough, the burfis won’t set and even if they do set, they won’t have a bite to them (like a burfi should have). They will also stick to your teeth when you eat them.

If you over-cook the dough, then chances are that the burfis can turn chewy. So knowing the right stage is crucial here.

Remember to always cook on low heat and stop cooking once the dough becomes non-sticky (should be absolutely non-sticky when you hold it in your hands) and you should be able to roll it into a ball easily (without any stickiness). That’s the right stage!

Frequently Asked Questions

My burfi didn’t set?

You need to cook the dough for some more time. Put it back on heat and cook on low heat for few more minutes and then set it again.

My burfi did set but it sticks to my teeth, is chewy and doesn’t have a bite to it?

Again, undercooked. Needed at least 2 more minutes. Put the mixture back on heat and cook for some more time on low heat.

My burfi is very solid, why?

You probably over-cooked the mixture. For the melt-in-mouth consistency, the dough has to be cooked just to the right stage.

Can I use thandai syrup in place of the powder?

No, that’s a liquid ingredient and will change the recipe altogether. Please use powder in this recipe.

How to store the burfi?

Store in the refrigerator and consume with in 5 days for best results.

Method

1- Heat 1 tablespoon (15 ml) milk in a small pan. Once the milk is warm, add pinch of saffron strands (crush it before adding) and then set this aside.

2- Now, heat a wide pan on medium-low heat and add butter to it. Once the butter melts, add 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon milk (120 ml + 15 ml) to it and stir.

3- Add the milk powder, thandai powder and the saffron milk that we had prepared earlier to the pan and mix everything. 

4- Now, add the powdered sugar. 

5- Mix it well and start cooking the mixture, stirring often.

6- After around 4 minutes of cooking on medium-low, the dough will start leaving the sides of the pan.

7- Now, turn heat to very low and continue to cook for additional 5 minutes or so, stirring continuously. After 5 minutes, the dough will become totally non-sticky. It won’t stick to your fingers at all and you will be able to roll it and make a ball from it easily. 

Total time taken after adding sugar to this stage was 9 minutes (4 mins on medium-low and 5 mins on low heat). This will may vary depending on the pan you are using and also the intensity of the heat, so look for the non-stickiness of the dough and being able to roll it as the main points.

8- Transfer dough to a tin lined with parchment paper or you can grease the pan with butter and then place the dough on it. I simply shaped it into a square on a parchment paper. Smooth the top with a spatula, you can also roll the dough by placing parchment paper on top to even it out.

Sprinkle dried rose petals on top and let it set for 2 hours. You can also put it in the fridge to speed up the process.

Once set, cut the thandai burfi into squares. Keep it refrigerated and consume with in 5 days!

More Recipes with Thandai Powder

White Chocolate Thandai Mousse

Thandai Coconut Ladoo

Thandai Cookies

If you’ve tried this Thandai Burfi Recipe then don’t forget to rate the recipe! You can also follow me on Facebook and Instagram to see what’s latest in my kitchen!