Thandai is the spiced milk of Holi — full-fat milk steeped with a paste of almonds, fennel, white poppy and melon seeds, peppercorns, cardamom, rose and saffron, then strained and served ice-cold. The name comes from thanda, cool: peppercorns and poppy and fennel, ground and taken cold, are read in Ayurveda as coolants for the body in the spring heat. It runs through the corridor’s Holi — Old Delhi’s lanes and the temple towns of Mathura and Vrindavan — but its most storied home is Banaras, where the ghat-side stalls have poured it for generations, including the ritual bhang version laced with cannabis. This version follows Sangeeta of Banaras ka Khana, whose heirloom thandai concentrate keeps the nut-and-seed paste and the long steep that build its flavour; it is the family, non-bhang drink.
INGREDIENTS
- 20 almonds
- 2 tbsp white poppy seeds (khus khus)
- 2 tbsp melon seeds (magaz)
- 1 tbsp fennel seeds (saunf)
- 10 black peppercorns
- 4 green cardamom pods (seeds only)
- 2 tbsp dried rose petals (or 1 tbsp rose water)
- a generous pinch of saffron
- 1 litre full-fat milk
- 6 –8 tbsp sugar (or to taste)
- slivered pistachios and almonds (to garnish)
METHOD
- Soak the almonds, poppy seeds, melon seeds, fennel, peppercorns, cardamom seeds and rose petals in a little warm water for at least 2 hours.
- Drain, then grind everything to a smooth paste with a little milk.
- Warm the milk gently, stir in the saffron and sugar until dissolved, then take off the heat.
- Stir the nut-and-seed paste into the milk.
- Cover and chill for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight, so the flavour infuses.
- Strain through a fine sieve or muslin into a jug, pressing out all the liquid.
- Stir in the rose water now if using it in place of petals.
- Serve ice-cold, garnished with slivered pistachios and almonds.
