Holi 2022: Thandai recipes to brighten your festival season

Holi is here and so is the day to gorge all things thandai and bhang. And, to you and your menu for the colourful day into the Holi mode, we have two hatke recipes that will surely add 'wow' element to your menu. So, what are you waiting for, let’s get cooking!

1. Thandai Shrikhand

Ingredients (Serves: 8):

Hung Curd: 3 cups

Powdered Sugar, sifted: 1/2 cup

Milk: 2 tbsp or more

Blanched Buchananialanzan seeds (Charoli / Chironjiseeds): 4 tsp

Saffron steeped in a little warm milk: 1/4th gm

Thandai Mix Powder/ paste: 6 tbsp or more as desired

For the Garnish:

Saffron strands: a pinch

Blanched and peeled Almonds, slivered or almond flakes: 20 gm

Blanched and peeled pistachio nuts, slivered: 20 gm

Rose petals (dried & edible): 2 tsp (Optional)

Method:

In a food processor, add hung curd and powdered sugar. Blend it for 35 seconds. Now add the preparedthandai spice mix powder. Blend it till smooth; ensure that it is lump free. Add milk to adjust consistency.Remove in a glass bowl, add blanched charoli seeds, saffron strands and mix well. Place the shrikhand in the refrigerator for two or more hours.

To serve:

Serve chilled garnished with slivered nuts, dried edible rose petals and saffron strands. To make homemade Thandai Mix Powder: Soak all the ingredients mentioned below in 3/4th cup of full-cream milk for Thandai mix paste and blend.

Almonds: 8

Cashew nuts: 8

Saffron: a few strands

Fennel seeds: ½ tbsp

Poppy seeds: ½ tbsp

Peppercorns, black: 8

Cinnamon powder: ½ tsp

Green Cardamom Powder: ½ tsp

Mixed Melon Seeds: ½ tbsp

Edible and Dried Rose petals: 6 tsp

2. Thandai Aur Saeb Ki Kheer

Ingredients (Serves: 8):

Apple (sweeter variety), peeled and grated: 1½ cup (to be peeled and grated before adding it)

Full-fat milk: 6 cups + 2 cups

Jaggery powder: ½ tbsp or more as desired

For the Thandai Spice Mix:

Almonds: 12

Cashew nuts: 12

Saffron: 1/4th gm

Fennel seeds: ½ tbsp

Poppy seeds: ½ tbsp

Peppercorns, black: 8

Cinnamon powder: 1/4th tsp

Green Cardamom Powder: 1 tsp

Mixed Melon Seeds: 1½ tbsp

Edible and Dried Rose petals: 4 tsp

For garnish:

Edible and dried rose petals: 4 tsp

Almonds, slivered: 2 tsp

Pistachio nuts, slivered: 1 tsp (optional)

Pepitas, lightly toasted: 2 tsp

Mixed Melon seeds: 4 tsp

Black peppercorns, lightly toasted and coarsely ground: ½ tsp

Method:

Soak the ingredients mentioned for Thandai Spice Mix in milk 2 cups for three hour overnight. Prepare a smooth paste and set aside. In a non-stick heavy-bottomed pan add 1 cup of water, bring it to a boil add grated jaggery, mix well. Strain with a food grade muslin cloth. Set aside. In a heavy bottomed non-stick deep pan add 6 cups of milk and bring it to a boil.

Simmer. Keep stirring and let the milk reduce a little.Add the Thandai paste and simmer it for 5 minutes. Let the kheer cool completely. Add the jaggery syrup and apple puree. Mix well. Pour into earthenware pots and refrigerate it for at least 2 hours. Serve chilled garnished with rose petals, slivered almonds, pepitas, mixed melon seeds and crushed peppercorn.

(Recipes by: Chef Reetu Uday Kugaji, Culinary Expert & Chef Consultant)