Ingredients
- 4 tbsp caster/normal sugar
- 10-15 black peppercorns
- 1½ tsp fennel seeds
- 4-5 cardamom seeds, powdered
- 10 blanched almonds (skin peeled off)
- A pinch of saffron (about 20 strands)
- 4 tsp rose water
- 2 tbsp khus khus (poppy seeds)
- 1 tbsp watermelon and muskmelon seeds
Steps
- Soak the saffron in rose water for about half an hour
- Grind all the ingredients (except saffron and sugar) into a paste, add little water if required
- Soak the paste in about a cup of water for 10-15 minutes and grind again into a finer paste; pass it through a sieve and keep it aside
- Gently heat the sugar in a small saucepan along with 2 tbsp of water until it dissolves into a syrup, stirring occasionally, turn of the heat and let it cool down
- Add saffron and the paste to the sugar syrup
- Store this syrup (thandai) in an airtight glass container and refrigerate for up to four-five days
- To prepare the drink, dilute 3-4 tsp thandai in 200-250 ml cold milk in a blender; to enhance the taste one could add 1-2 almonds per glass and a few ice-cubes when blending
