Thandai Powder Recipe

Thandai powder in a glass jar garnished with rose petals.

This is our favorite homemade thandai powder recipe. It has much better flavors than store-bought thandai masala because this one is made without artificial flavors and colors.

Course Basics

Cuisine Indian

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 5

Servings cup (approx)

Calories 70kcal

Author Kanan

Ingredients

For Thandai Powder:

½ cup Almonds
¼ cup Pistachios
¼ cup Cashew nuts
2 tablespoons Melon seeds (Charmagaz, magaj tari na beej, kharbuje ka beej)
2 tablespoons Khas khas (White poppy seeds)
1 ½ tablespoons Fennel seeds
1 teaspoon Black peppercorns
8 Green cardamoms seeds only
½ inch Cinnamon stick
20-25 strands Saffron
2 tablespoons Dried rose petals

To Make Drink (1 serving):

1 cup Milk
1 tablespoon Thandai powder
2-3 teaspoons Sugar

Instructions

Take almonds, cashews and pistachios in a pan and dry roast on low heat until they warm up. No need for color change.
During the last minute of roasting, add melon seeds and roast them for a minute only.
Remove it to a plate and keep it aside.
Take the rest ingredients (poppy seeds, fennel seeds, peppercorns, green cardamom seeds, cinnamon, rose petals and saffron) in the same pan. Dry roast with stirring constantly for 2-3 minutes only.
Remove it to the same plate and let the mixture cool down completely.
Using a spice grinder (or coffee grinder) make a fine powder out of it. Use a pluse mode instead of grinding constantly. Because my grinder is small I did this in batches and mix the powder evenly at the end.
Store this instant mix powder in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 months.

Make Drink:

Take ¼ cup of milk and heat it in a microwave just until it starts to boil. Instead, do this in a pan on the stovetop.
Add 2-3 teaspoons sugar and 1 tablespoon thandai powder.
Mix and let it rest in the fridge for 30-40 minutes or until the milk is chilled.
After resting time, you will notice that milk gets a pale yellow color from saffron.
Add the remaining ¾ cup of milk and stir.
Strain the milk and discard the paste. Garnish it with rose petals and serve.

Notes

Dry roast the ingredients just until warmed up. No need to look for color change. We are roasting them just to make sure that there is no moisture in them left. So it can have a longer shelf life.
Remove the nuts from the fridge ahead of time and bring them to room temperature.
Do not grind the powder in one go. Use the pulse mode otherwise, oil starts to ooze out from the nuts.

Nutrition