Thandai is a traditional Indian drink that is especially popular during the festival of Holi, the Festival of Colors which is celebrated during the springtime. It’s not Holi without passing around the Thandai! Since it’s a cooling drink, it’s also a popular drink to beat the heat during hot weather in India. It is a refreshing and cooling drink, often associated with North Indian cuisine. Thandai is known for its unique combination of ingredients, including nuts, seeds, and spices, which contribute to its distinct flavor when steeped in milk. Some variations of Thandai also include the addition of bhang, a paste made from cannabis, during the festival of Holi.
What is Thandai? When and why do people drink it?
Thandai, meaning cooling, is a cold milk-based drink that is prepared using thandai masala - mixture of nuts, seeds, and spices. It’s served during Holi, the Festival of Colors, and Maha Shivaratri. Indians love Thandai for several reasons… 1) It’s usually laced with bhang (a paste made with cannibis) for adults only, 2) it’s cooling especially during the hot season in India, 3) the ingredients consist of nuts, seeds, and spices simmered with milk to boost your immunity, making it an all around enjoyable drink. Funnily enough, I was asking my mother why the heck people are lacing Thandai with bhang. She said it is tradition in some places where ladies are allowed to trap their male family members in a corner and smack the crap out of him. The bhang helps lessen the blows apparently.
Ingredients - Notes and Substitutions
Thandai masala is made of three groupings of ingredients:
Nuts - Almonds are the main ingredient in terms of nuts for this drink. You can play around with the amount of nuts you use for the others, but the almonds are essential. I personally would not make substitutions with pecans, walnuts, or peanuts - I would just omit the nuts and stick to almonds entirely - but you can certainly try it and see if you like it. Seeds - Thandai is usually made of four different types of seeds. To stay truly authentic to the recipe, I would substitute out the pumpkin seeds for melon seeds (cantaloupe or watermelon). Unfortunately, melon seeds are very difficult to come by in the U.S. as compared to India unless you are actively saving and drying the seeds when purchasing fresh melon. Depending on the type of grinder you’re using, cardamom pods can be difficult to break down. If the blades are not sharp, I’d recommend using about a teaspoon of cardamom powder. Aromatics - The aromatics, like saffron, adds layers of fragrance and flavor to this cold drink! Roses - The florals are important in Thandai! There’s a few ways to add it - edible dried roses, gulkand (rose jam), and rose water. I like to add dried roses in the masala, and then rosewater while the milk steeps. You can also skip these two in favor of gulkand depending on the ingredients you have available.
Besides the Thandai Masala, you’ll need the following to make this drink:
Milk - Thandai is typically made with whole milk. You can also use evaporated milk with a bit of sweetened condensed milk to make it especially thick. To make it vegan, use your favorite plant-based milk. Sweetener - It’s sweetened with sugar or sweetened condensed milk. Honey and maple syrup are delicious as well. The amount of sweetener can be adjusted to suit individual taste preferences.
And that’s it! Let’s get into how to make Thandai.
How to make Homemade Thandai Masala
It’s best to use whole ingredients for the ultimate freshness and flavor. You’ll need something to grind your ingredients for the masala together. Traditionally, a mortar and pestle is used but it can be time consuming. You can use a high-powered blender like Vitamix, food processor, or a coffee grinder to break everything down into a powder. Add all the masala ingredients to a blender and pulse it several times until the ingredients start to break down. Run the blender for several minutes until you start to see a fine powder, stopping every now and then to scrape down the sides. If there are a few chunks, that’s totally fine. You just want the nuts to begin releasing their oils, stopping before it starts turning into a paste. This makes around 12 servings of Thandai Masala. Store the masala in a sanitized airtight mason jar. It can be kept in a dark place of your kitchen for a week, or up to a month in the refrigerator.
How to make Thandai
You can make Thandai a few days in advance of Holi!
How to Serve
According to my mother, Thandai is best enjoyed in the afternoon only. It’s a cooling drink, so it makes sense that it’s perfect for cooling down at peak high temperature during the day. Serve the Thandai chilled over crushed ice. It’s not even half as good if served warm, so chilled is definitely the way to go. Garnish with chopped almonds, pistachios, dried rose petals, and if you especially love the person - some extra strands of saffron.
Spiking Thandai with Alcohol
Thandai is traditionally spiked with bhang during Holi. Unfortunately, bhang is not legal in many places so alcohol is a great alternative. A close friend of mine mentioned one of his friends spiked Thandai at a party with vodka and it was an absolute hit! I tested this and I agree. A smooth, creamy vodka mixes really really well with Thandai! I would recommend about 0.5 - 1oz of vodka to each cup of Thandai.
More Indian Drink Recipes to try
Recipe
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