Thandai is a very popular drink prepared during the festival of Mahashivaratriand Holi. It is a very famous drink of North India and is widely consumed inWestern Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan. All the ingredients added toprepare thandai recipe, has great health benefits.
Loved this recipe? Leave a comment below and give us a 5★ rating
½tablespoonpeppercorns / sabut kali mirch (reduce the quantity if you prefer less spicy taste)
10cardamom / elaichi
2tablespoonfennel seeds / variyali / saunf
2tablespoonmelon seeds / magaz / kharbooje ke beej
pinch of saffron / kesar
Other Ingredients
2tablespoon gulkand
¼cupwater or as required
For sugar syrup
100gramssugar
250mlwater
pinch of saffron / kesar
Instructions
In a bowl, combine all the ingredients listed under “For soaking”. Add hot water and mix. Cover the bowl and soak these for 4-5 hours. If you are adding room temperature water then you need to soak everything for 8-9 hours or overnight.
After 4-5 hours, remove excess water in a separate bowl. Preserve water.
Take all the soaked items in a mixer jar along with 2 tablespoon gulkand and little preserved water and blend to a fine paste. Keep checking and blending adding little water gradually. If you feel, paste is too dry, then you may add little extra water. We added ¼ cup extra water while grinding. Keep the prepared paste aside.
In a big pan/kadai, combine 100 grams sugar, 250 ml water and pinch of kesar. Let the syrup come to a boil.
Once the syrup boils, add the prepared paste and mix. Take little water in the mixer jar, shake well and add to the pan.
Keep stirring and cook this on a medium flame for about 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, you will notice that the mixture has thickened and syrup is coating the back of spoon.
Remove from flame and let it cool. Once the syrup cools, blend again to achieve a fine consistency.
NOTE: This step is optional. Blending again gives a nice smooth texture to our syrup.
Video
Notes
Storage
Once the syrup is blended, store in a glass bottle in refrigerator. Bottle should be clean, dry and well sterilized.
The syrup can stay good for about 15 days in refrigerator.
Do not keep the bottle containing thandai syrup at room temperature for long. Take out the bottle and pour the required portion to make thandai. Immediately keep the bottle in refrigerator.
Tips & Variations to make Thandai Syrup
Adjust sweetness of thandai syrup as per your taste. We have kept the syrup of mild sweet taste, so this will be suitable for everyone. If anyone wishes to add little extra sugar/honey/rock sugar/stevia, then it can be added while making thandai.
We have added gulkand for this syrup. But if you want to use dried rose petals, then add rose petals while soaking all the ingredients.
You can also add poppy seeds/khus khus. It can be added at the time of soaking ingredients.
Reduce the quantity of black pepper, if you prefer less spicy taste.