Thandai: Aromatic Almond Milk Recipe

Thandai – The nutty, sweetly spiced aromatic drink made during the Festival of Holi.

‘Thandai’ is a take on the word ‘thand’ which means cold, and taking that meaning Thandai means something that is cooling. Traditionally, Thandai is served during the festival of Holi with milk and cream as its base. But this Thandai recipe is dairy free and processed sugar free and it’s certainly as good as the traditional one if not better!

As with all things related to traditional Indian cuisine, the health benefits of Thandai are numerous. This Ayurvedic formula of almonds (badam), magaz seeds, (melon seeds, pumpkin seeds, cucumber seeds), Poppy seeds (Khaskhas), peppercorns (Kali mirch) rose petals (Gulab), hollyhock (Banafsha), fennel seeds (saunf), cashews (kaju), Saffron ( zafraan/kesar) and green cardamom (choti ilaichi) has a cooling ‘taasir’ (effect) on the body.

Although you will find numerous recipes for Thandai powder, which is a short cut method to make the drink, I always soak the nuts and seeds first. This increases the digestibility of the drink and if you spend so much time on making something that is good for your health, why go only half way?

This drink will keep in the fridge for at least 5 days. So technically you will have a refreshing supply of the drink for each day of the work week and then you can make more on the weekend.

The process to make this drink is quite similar to making almond milk at home. Just soak all the nuts and seeds, blend with the spices and flowers and then serve with a topping of rose petals and saffron.

In this recipe of thandai I have not used hollyhocks because I didn’t have any on hand. But if you do, add them in.

Welcome to Progressive Eats, our virtual version of a Progressive Dinner Party. This month’s theme is a Holi Celebration – Celebrating The Festival of Colors, and I am hosting the event to celebrate this fun festival with a few of my blogger friends If you’re unfamiliar with the concept, a progressive dinner involves going from house to house, enjoying a different course at each location. With Progressive Eats it’s a virtual party. A theme is chosen each month, members share recipes suitable for a delicious meal or party, and you can hop from blog to blog to check them out. Come along and see all of the delicious fiesta inspired dishes!