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Banarasi thandai

AI-drafted · awaiting admin review

Chilled milk blended with a paste of almonds, fennel, melon seeds, pepper, rose petals and cardamom; the drink of Holi and Mahashivratri.

Region: Varanasi and BrajOccasion: Holi and Mahashivratri; summerTime: 20 min + 2 hours soakingServes: 4Vegetarian

Ingredients

  • 1 litre full-fat milk, chilled
  • ¼ cup almonds, 2 tbsp cashews
  • 1 tbsp fennel seeds, 1 tbsp melon seeds (magaz), 1 tbsp poppy seeds (khus khus)
  • 1 tsp black peppercorns, 8 green cardamoms
  • 1 tbsp dried rose petals (or 1 tsp rose water)
  • ½ cup sugar, a pinch of saffron

Method

  1. Soak the nuts, seeds, pepper, cardamom and rose petals in ½ cup water for 2 hours.
  2. Grind to a very fine paste, adding a little milk.
  3. Mix the paste into the milk with the sugar and saffron. Leave 30 minutes in the fridge.
  4. Strain through a fine muslin, pressing to extract the flavour.
  5. Serve very cold, topped with chopped nuts and rose petals.

History

Thandai ('the cooling one') has long been made in Banaras and Mathura, where it is offered to Bhagwan Shiva and Shri Krishna on festival days.

Significance

On Holi and Mahashivratri, families and temple communities prepare thandai in large quantities and share it with neighbours and guests.

Sources