About Thandai
The word Thandai means that, which is cooling or cools as it is derived from the word ‘thanda’ which essentially means ‘cool’ or ‘cold’ in Hindi language. Since the Thandai Recipe also is a cooling drink for the body, hence the name. This classic beverage is also referred to as ‘shardai‘ or ‘sardai.‘ Thandai is a traditional drink, primarily made during the festival of colors Holi and is popular in the northern parts of India. The main composition of this beverage consists of a sweetened mix of nuts, seeds and a few spices, which forms a paste. This paste is then diluted with milk that makes for the refreshing drink. With a nutty, milky taste, the Thandai Recipe has a heady aroma and sweet scented flavors of the rose, cardamom and saffron coupled together with some hits of pungency from the black pepper. Like I mentioned earlier, it is super cooling for the body majorly because of the water-soaked almonds (badam), poppy seeds (khus khus), fennel seeds (saunf) and rose petals or gulkand (rose preserve) in it. Thandai is one of those drinks that is made during the popular Hindu festivals of Holi and Mahashivratri too. A typical bhang (cannabis) Thandai Recipe is also common during both these festivals. Once on our spiritual tour in Banaras and Rishikesh in North India, even we got the chance to try the bhang variant of this beverage.
About Thandai Recipe
My Thandai Recipe is simple, non-fussy and very easy to prepare. You only have to soak the nuts/seeds, blend them with sugar and spices and mix with milk or water. So, the nuts/seeds that I use in my recipe of Thandai are almonds, poppy seeds and melon seeds. The spices that go into it are fennel seeds, black peppercorns, green cardamoms and saffron. An added flavor is that of dried rose petals or gulkand. The beauty of this Thandai Recipe is that you can make ahead the Thandai paste and refrigerate for a week or freeze it for 1 to 2 months. And when you want to make the beverage, just mix the paste with milk and your cooling glass of Thandai is ready in no time. This Thandai Recipe serves makes for about 8 to 9 glasses of the drink. It is easily scalable and you can make a small or large batch for a crowd.
How to make Thandai
Soak Nuts, Seeds, Spices
Before you begin with the Thandai Recipe, ensure that the nuts, seeds and spices are fresh and not rancid.
- In a bowl, pour 1 cup warm water.
- Then, add 3 tablespoons almonds, preferably rinsed. Note: You can opt to use peeled almonds, if you prefer. Simply blanch the almonds in a separate bowl in hot water for 30 minutes and later peel them.
- Next, add 2 heaped tablespoons pistachios (unsalted), preferably rinsed. Instead of pistachios, you can also use cashews.
- Then, add 2 tablespoons white poppy seeds (khus khus). Omit, if you do not have these tiny white seeds.
- Next, add ¼ cup melon seeds (magaz). You can omit these seeds, if you do not have or as an alternative use peeled pumpkin seeds (unsalted).
- The next ingredient to be added is 2 tablespoons dried rose petals. If you do not have dried rose petals, add 2 tablespoons rose water or 2 tablespoons gulkand. If you plan to add gulkand, reduce the sugar to ⅓ cup in the recipe.
- Add 1 tablespoon fennel seeds (saunf).
- Then, add ½ teaspoon whole black peppercorns.
- Mix very well. Cover and keep aside for 1 to 2 hours. If you use water at room temperature, then you can also keep overnight or for 4 to 5 hours in the refrigerator.
- The picture below shows the Thandai mixture after 90 minutes.
Make Thandai Paste
- Now, pour the whole mixture including the soaking water in a grinder or blender jar. Make sure to use a good high speed grinder or blender.
- Add ½ cup sugar.
- Then, add seeds from 3 to 4 green cardamoms.
- Next, add 1 pinch saffron or about 15 to 18 strands. Saffron is optional and you can skip it.
- Grind to a very smooth and fine paste. Remove in a bowl and keep aside. You can cover and refrigerate, if not using immediately. No need to add extra water while grinding. Note: You need to grind the ingredients to a super fine texture here so that you do no get a grainy or gritty taste in the thandai drink. If your mixer or blender is unable to make a fine paste, I recommend to strain the paste.
Make Thandai
- Take 4 tablespoons of the prepared Thandai paste in a glass. You can add less or more as per your requirements. 17. Add 1 cup chilled milk. You can also use half-half combination of milk and water. You can use almond milk instead of dairy milk. For some fruity variations follow these steps:
- Mix very well.
- Add a few ice cubes.
- Garnish with rose petals. You can also garnish with some chopped almonds or pistachios.
- Serve Thandai immediately. Alternatively, make the beverage in a large mug or jug. Refrigerate and then serve chilled. While serving later, mix and stir the drink in the mug or jar and then pour in glasses.
Storage
The Thandai paste keeps well refrigerated for about a week and frozen for about a month. Keep it in a covered container in your refrigerator or freezer. Later, thaw if frozen and mix the paste with chilled milk. Garnish with nuts and relish the lovely flavors of this summer drink. The prepared Thandai drink keeps well for about 1 to 2 days in the fridge. You can opt to make the drink in a large jar and refrigerate for some hours until cold to be served later.
Thandai Variations
You can experiment with this Thandai Recipe and make a variety of other flavorful variations of this summer beverage at home. Some of the easy ones are:
Chocolate Thandai: Just mix in 1 to 2 tablespoons of drinking chocolate or drinking cocoa with milk and the thandai paste. If needed, add more sugar.Strawberry Thandai: Mix in ¼ to ⅓ cup of crushed or pureed strawberries made from fresh or frozen strawberries.Mango Thandai: Yes, the ‘king of fruits’ enhances the flavors of this drink all the more. Just add ¼ to ⅓ cup mango pulp (homemade or packaged/bottled) with the paste and milk. Mix well, taste and add more milk, if required.Litchi Thandai: If you are a litchi lover, add ⅓ to ½ cup of litchi puree made with fresh litchi fruits. To make litchi puree, simply blend peeled litchi in a blender.
In this way, you can go creative, make for your kind of Thandai Recipe and enjoy it with family, relatives and friends.
Expert Tips
Please be sure to rate the recipe in the recipe card or leave a comment below if you have made it. For more vegetarian inspirations, Sign Up for my emails or follow me on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter. Lassi Recipe (3 Flavorful Variations) Cold Coffee Recipe (Creamy & Cafe Style) Falooda Recipe with Ice Cream | Faluda Recipe Chaas Recipe (Mattha Recipe) This Thandai recipe from the blog archives first published in March 2017 has been republished and updated on March 2023.
title: “Thandai Recipe Traditional Drink For Holi” ShowToc: true date: “2024-09-28” author: “Johnny Thomas”
About Thandai
The word Thandai means that, which is cooling or cools as it is derived from the word ‘thanda’ which essentially means ‘cool’ or ‘cold’ in Hindi language. Since the Thandai Recipe also is a cooling drink for the body, hence the name. This classic beverage is also referred to as ‘shardai‘ or ‘sardai.‘ Thandai is a traditional drink, primarily made during the festival of colors Holi and is popular in the northern parts of India. The main composition of this beverage consists of a sweetened mix of nuts, seeds and a few spices, which forms a paste. This paste is then diluted with milk that makes for the refreshing drink. With a nutty, milky taste, the Thandai Recipe has a heady aroma and sweet scented flavors of the rose, cardamom and saffron coupled together with some hits of pungency from the black pepper. Like I mentioned earlier, it is super cooling for the body majorly because of the water-soaked almonds (badam), poppy seeds (khus khus), fennel seeds (saunf) and rose petals or gulkand (rose preserve) in it. Thandai is one of those drinks that is made during the popular Hindu festivals of Holi and Mahashivratri too. A typical bhang (cannabis) Thandai Recipe is also common during both these festivals. Once on our spiritual tour in Banaras and Rishikesh in North India, even we got the chance to try the bhang variant of this beverage.
About Thandai Recipe
My Thandai Recipe is simple, non-fussy and very easy to prepare. You only have to soak the nuts/seeds, blend them with sugar and spices and mix with milk or water. So, the nuts/seeds that I use in my recipe of Thandai are almonds, poppy seeds and melon seeds. The spices that go into it are fennel seeds, black peppercorns, green cardamoms and saffron. An added flavor is that of dried rose petals or gulkand. The beauty of this Thandai Recipe is that you can make ahead the Thandai paste and refrigerate for a week or freeze it for 1 to 2 months. And when you want to make the beverage, just mix the paste with milk and your cooling glass of Thandai is ready in no time. This Thandai Recipe serves makes for about 8 to 9 glasses of the drink. It is easily scalable and you can make a small or large batch for a crowd.
How to make Thandai
Soak Nuts, Seeds, Spices
Before you begin with the Thandai Recipe, ensure that the nuts, seeds and spices are fresh and not rancid.
- In a bowl, pour 1 cup warm water.
- Then, add 3 tablespoons almonds, preferably rinsed. Note: You can opt to use peeled almonds, if you prefer. Simply blanch the almonds in a separate bowl in hot water for 30 minutes and later peel them.
- Next, add 2 heaped tablespoons pistachios (unsalted), preferably rinsed. Instead of pistachios, you can also use cashews.
- Then, add 2 tablespoons white poppy seeds (khus khus). Omit, if you do not have these tiny white seeds.
- Next, add ¼ cup melon seeds (magaz). You can omit these seeds, if you do not have or as an alternative use peeled pumpkin seeds (unsalted).
- The next ingredient to be added is 2 tablespoons dried rose petals. If you do not have dried rose petals, add 2 tablespoons rose water or 2 tablespoons gulkand. If you plan to add gulkand, reduce the sugar to ⅓ cup in the recipe.
- Add 1 tablespoon fennel seeds (saunf).
- Then, add ½ teaspoon whole black peppercorns.
- Mix very well. Cover and keep aside for 1 to 2 hours. If you use water at room temperature, then you can also keep overnight or for 4 to 5 hours in the refrigerator.
- The picture below shows the Thandai mixture after 90 minutes.
Make Thandai Paste
- Now, pour the whole mixture including the soaking water in a grinder or blender jar. Make sure to use a good high speed grinder or blender.
- Add ½ cup sugar.
- Then, add seeds from 3 to 4 green cardamoms.
- Next, add 1 pinch saffron or about 15 to 18 strands. Saffron is optional and you can skip it.
- Grind to a very smooth and fine paste. Remove in a bowl and keep aside. You can cover and refrigerate, if not using immediately. No need to add extra water while grinding. Note: You need to grind the ingredients to a super fine texture here so that you do no get a grainy or gritty taste in the thandai drink. If your mixer or blender is unable to make a fine paste, I recommend to strain the paste.
Make Thandai
- Take 4 tablespoons of the prepared Thandai paste in a glass. You can add less or more as per your requirements. 17. Add 1 cup chilled milk. You can also use half-half combination of milk and water. You can use almond milk instead of dairy milk. For some fruity variations follow these steps:
- Mix very well.
- Add a few ice cubes.
- Garnish with rose petals. You can also garnish with some chopped almonds or pistachios.
- Serve Thandai immediately. Alternatively, make the beverage in a large mug or jug. Refrigerate and then serve chilled. While serving later, mix and stir the drink in the mug or jar and then pour in glasses.
Storage
The Thandai paste keeps well refrigerated for about a week and frozen for about a month. Keep it in a covered container in your refrigerator or freezer. Later, thaw if frozen and mix the paste with chilled milk. Garnish with nuts and relish the lovely flavors of this summer drink. The prepared Thandai drink keeps well for about 1 to 2 days in the fridge. You can opt to make the drink in a large jar and refrigerate for some hours until cold to be served later.
Thandai Variations
You can experiment with this Thandai Recipe and make a variety of other flavorful variations of this summer beverage at home. Some of the easy ones are:
Chocolate Thandai: Just mix in 1 to 2 tablespoons of drinking chocolate or drinking cocoa with milk and the thandai paste. If needed, add more sugar.Strawberry Thandai: Mix in ¼ to ⅓ cup of crushed or pureed strawberries made from fresh or frozen strawberries.Mango Thandai: Yes, the ‘king of fruits’ enhances the flavors of this drink all the more. Just add ¼ to ⅓ cup mango pulp (homemade or packaged/bottled) with the paste and milk. Mix well, taste and add more milk, if required.Litchi Thandai: If you are a litchi lover, add ⅓ to ½ cup of litchi puree made with fresh litchi fruits. To make litchi puree, simply blend peeled litchi in a blender.
In this way, you can go creative, make for your kind of Thandai Recipe and enjoy it with family, relatives and friends.
Expert Tips
Please be sure to rate the recipe in the recipe card or leave a comment below if you have made it. For more vegetarian inspirations, Sign Up for my emails or follow me on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter. Lassi Recipe (3 Flavorful Variations) Cold Coffee Recipe (Creamy & Cafe Style) Falooda Recipe with Ice Cream | Faluda Recipe Chaas Recipe (Mattha Recipe) This Thandai recipe from the blog archives first published in March 2017 has been republished and updated on March 2023.
