Thandai in Hindi literally means a coolant. It is a milk based drink that is perfect for summers. It is associated with spring  festivals of India – Shivratri  and Holi. When winter starts to give way to hot weather, this drink cools down the body. Nowadays thandai syrup and powder are easily available in market. But the problem with these is that many of them do not taste good as they use artificial flavorings. Goodness of thandai lies in the healthy ingredients that are used in it. This is the reason I decided to make concentrated thandai syrup. It does not require too much of effort. We can make syrup in bulk and store it in bottles. Whenever we want to drink thandai, just add chilled milk to a small amount of syrup, and thandai will be ready. So here I am sharing thandai recipe with you.
If you want you can also try some other recipes that I have shared such as watermelon smoothie, aam panna, a healthy mango drink, or amla lemon and ginger squash.Â
Thandai is made from healthy ingredients such as nuts, seeds, spices and milk and is therefore very. During the change in weather the nutrients that we get from nuts and milk nourishes our body and helps in fighting diseases. The spices such as black/white pepper corns are antioxidants, fennel seeds help in digestion. Saffron and rose-water used in thandai are also loaded with goodness. We all know that milk is a complete food in itself. Those who are lactose intolerant or vegan can use soy milk or almond milk in thandai.
The nuts that I used in making thandai syrup are almonds, pistachios, and cashew nuts. Pistachios and cashew nuts help in making thandai a bit thick. If you don’t have them you can avoid them, but almonds are must. Apart from nuts we also need melon seeds and poppy seeds (posta/khus khus). I soaked them all separately overnight. I then removed the skin of almonds and pistachios. Spices that are needed are fennel seeds, white or black pepper corns, and seeds of green cardamom. Apart from that we also need saffron strands, rose-water/rose essence/rose petals, sugar, and of course water.
Ingredients used in thandai recipe
I started with making sugar syrup. In the mean time, I grounded the dry ingredients-spices and saffron. Then to the powdered ingredients I added soaked nuts and seeds, some sugar syrup to help in grinding, and grounded everything to a smooth paste. I added this paste to the syrup. Cooked the solution for few minutes, and then passed it through a sieve to get smooth syrup. I then added rose-water and some more saffron strands to this syrup. When cold, I filled the syrup in clean glass bottles. Simple! Isn’t it?
Pour some thandai syrup in glass and add chilled milk to it
Now whenever I want to drink thandai, I pour a small amount of this syrup in a glass (the quantity will depend upon how strong the flavors you want). I generally fill slightly less than 1/4th of a glass with syrup and the rest with chilled milk. Stir it well, decorate with chopped nuts, saffron strands, or rose petals, and enjoy the drink.
Watch video to see how I made thandai syrup.
I have also shared recipe of mango vanilla panna cotta and fruit trifle pudding, that are perfect in summers.
Thandai recipe: How to make Thandai syrup
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| Servings | Prep Time |
| 1.25 liters of syrup | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time | Passive Time |
| 10 minutes | over night |
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Thandai is a cooling milk based drink for summers. We can make and store thandai syrup, and make thandai out of it whenever we want.
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- 1/2 cup almond kernels soaked overnight, and skin removed
- 1 tablespoon pistachio soaked overnight and skin removed
- 1 tablespoon cashew nuts soaked overnight
- 1/2 cup melon seeds soaked overnight
- 1/2 cup poppy seeds soaked overnight
- 2 pinch saffron strands
- 1/2 cup fennel seeds (saunf)
- 1 tablespoon white/black pepper corns
- 35 green cardamoms seeds only
- 5 cups sugar
- 3 cups plain water
- 4 tablespoons rose water
- First of all in a large vessel, add water to sugar and keep it on medium flame in order to make sugar syrup.
- Meanwhile, take all the dry ingredients - fennel seeds, black pepper corns, cardamom seeds, and saffron, and grind them to powder in a grinder.
- To this powder now add soaked almonds, pistachios, cashew nuts, melon seeds, and poppy seeds. Add about a cup of sugar syrup (or as required to help in grinding) and grind everything to a smooth paste.
- When the sugar has dissolved and syrup starts simmering, add this paste to the syrup. Allow it to simmer for few minutes.
- Remove from gas. Pass this solutipn through a seive to get smooth syrup. Add rose water and a pinch of saffron strand (optional). Mix well and allow the syrup to cool down. Once cold, fill it in clean glass bottle. Close the lid tightly. This syrup remains good for about four months and maybe more, in refrigerator.
- Pour a small amount of syrup in a glass (less than a quarter of the glass). Add chilled milk to it. Stir it. Decorate with pistachio slivers, saffron strands, and rose petals (optional). Serve chilled.
Tips:
- Use thick milk to make thandai. Serve chilled. If the milk is not cold enough, add some ice cubes, though it dilutes thandai a bit.
- You can replace milk with almond milk or soy milk.
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