Rose Thandai - Holi Special ( रोस ठंडाई)

  Thandai (ठंडाई) is a very special cold drink made in North India during Maha Shivratri and Holi .Thandai is also known by the name as Sardai .

Thandai is a milk based drink which comes in various flavors like kesar -badam , rose ,mango and the latest being Chocolate thandai . 

Various condiments ,dry fruits and spices are roasted and ground to a fine powder or paste which is then mixed in milk along with sugar in the right proportion and then served  chilled .

There are various ways in which thandai can be made and you can decide what goes into the thandai mixture depending on your likes .

I have kept the essence of fennel very mild as it would cut the taste of the rose flavor which is the Star of this thandai . Also,the condiments and spices used in this recipe will be easily available in everyone's kitchen and you can easily manage to prepare a lipsmacking thandai in no time. 

I have used concentrated rose syrup in my thandai as I didn't have an access to edible rose petals and I don't want to risk using any other rose petals. You can also add a spoon of gulkand while blending for added taste and flavor. Using sabja seeds or chia seeds is  purely optional. 

Preparation Time - 10 mins

Cooking Time - nil

Serves - 3 to 4 glasses

Complexity- easy 

Ingredients 

8 to 10 almonds / badam
7 to 8 pistas /pistachios
1/2 tsp fennel/saunf seeds 
2 cardamoms
Few pepper corns 
3 tablespoons rose syrup 
2 - 3 tbsp Sugar or as needed
3 cups of boiled and cooled milk 
Few strands of saffron
1 tsp chia / sabja seeds soaked in water 

Method 

• In a pan dry roast the badam,pista , fennel, pepper ,cardamom until it feels warm. Cool it for a few minutes and make a fine powder in pulse mode . Don't run the blender for long as the nuts will release oil making the powder sticky.
• In a juice jar ,add this thandai powder ,sugar and 1 cup milk and blend to a fine paste .
• Add the remaining milk ,rose syrup and give it a quick blend .
• Pour it into a jug and refrigerate until you serve. 

Serving suggestions 

Add 1/2 tsp of soaked sabja /chia seeds in a glass ,pour the thandai and top it with some chopped nuts and few saffron strands.

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