{"id":3156,"date":"2026-07-28T09:40:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T08:40:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mymahotsav.com\/utsav-recipes\/?p=3156"},"modified":"2026-07-28T11:02:03","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T10:02:03","slug":"thandai","status":"publish","type":"cp_recipe","link":"https:\/\/mymahotsav.com\/utsav-recipes\/recipe\/thandai\/","title":{"rendered":"Saffron-Rose Holi Thandai"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n

A chilled, spiced almond-milk drink flavoured with saffron, fennel and rose \u2014 a refreshing Holi favourite. Thandai belongs to Holi the way eggnog belongs to Christmas \u2014 you could drink it any day of the year, but it only really tastes right in the middle of a colour-soaked afternoon, glass in one hand, someone about to throw gulal at you with the other. Its name literally means ‘cooling,’ and that’s exactly the job it does: a rich, ground blend of almonds, melon seeds, fennel and peppercorn, steeped into chilled milk with saffron and a dash of rose water, meant to counter the heat of the festival. Thandai’s roots reach back centuries in North Indian Ayurvedic cooking, prized as much for its cooling properties in the pre-summer heat as for its flavour. Serve it ice-cold, in a tall glass, with a scatter of chopped pistachios and a few rose petals floating on top.<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n

Ingredients<\/h3>\n
\n
For the Spice Paste<\/div>\n
0.25<\/span> cup<\/span> Almonds<\/span><\/div>\n
2<\/span> tbsp<\/span> Pistachios<\/span><\/div>\n
1<\/span> tbsp<\/span> White poppy seeds<\/span><\/div>\n
1<\/span> tbsp<\/span> Fennel seeds<\/span><\/div>\n
2<\/span> tbsp<\/span> Melon seeds<\/span><\/div>\n
0.50<\/span> tsp<\/span> Black peppercorns<\/span><\/div>\n
For the Drink<\/div>\n
750<\/span> ml<\/span> Whole milk, chilled<\/span><\/div>\n
4<\/span> tbsp<\/span> Sugar<\/span><\/div>\n
1<\/span> pinch<\/span> Saffron strands<\/span><\/div>\n
1<\/span> tsp<\/span> Rose water<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Directions<\/h3>\n
\n
Soak and Blend the Spice Paste<\/div>\n
\n
\n

Soak the almonds, pistachios, poppy seeds, fennel seeds, melon seeds and black peppercorns in warm water for at least 2 hours, or overnight, until visibly softened. <\/i> Start 2-hour soak timer<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

Drain the soaked nuts and spices, then blend them with a few tablespoons of milk into a smooth, fine paste – it should feel silky between your fingers with no gritty bits left.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Mix and Serve<\/div>\n
\n
\n

Whisk the spice paste into the remaining chilled milk along with sugar and a few strands of saffron, straining through a fine sieve if a completely smooth texture is preferred.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

Stir in a dash of rose water, then chill thoroughly in the fridge for at least 1 hour before serving. <\/i> Start 1-hour chill timer<\/a><\/span> Pour over ice and garnish with rose petals and chopped pistachios before serving.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":3146,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","recipe_category":[321],"class_list":["post-3156","cp_recipe","type-cp_recipe","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","cp_recipe_category-beverages","cp_recipe_cuisine-indian","cp_recipe_cooking_method-blending","cp_recipe_diet-vegetarian"],"yoast_head":"\nSaffron-Rose Holi Thandai Recipe | Chilled Spiced Milk Drink<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Make traditional Holi-special Thandai at home \u2014 a chilled, spiced Indian milk drink with almonds, saffron, fennel and rose. Ready to serve in minutes.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/mymahotsav.com\/utsav-recipes\/recipe\/thandai\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Saffron-Rose Holi Thandai \u2014 Chilled Almond Milk Drink\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A chilled, spiced almond-milk drink flavoured with saffron, fennel and rose \u2014 a refreshing Holi favourite. Thandai belongs to Holi the way eggnog belongs to Christmas \u2014 you could drink it any day of the year, but it only really tastes right in the middle of a colour-soaked afternoon, glass in one hand, someone about to throw gulal at you with the other. Its name literally means 'cooling,' and that's exactly the job it does: a rich, ground blend of almonds, melon seeds, fennel and peppercorn, steeped into chilled milk with saffron and a dash of rose water, meant to counter the heat of the festival. Thandai's roots reach back centuries in North Indian Ayurvedic cooking, prized as much for its cooling properties in the pre-summer heat as for its flavour. Serve it ice-cold, in a tall glass, with a scatter of chopped pistachios and a few rose petals floating on top.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/mymahotsav.com\/utsav-recipes\/recipe\/thandai\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Utsav Recipes\u2122\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-07-28T10:02:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cdnx.mymahotsav.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2026\/07\/28093743\/thandai-hero.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1408\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Saffron-Rose Thandai for Holi\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Chilled almond milk spiced with saffron, fennel and rose \u2014 the classic Holi cooler.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mymahotsav.com\\\/utsav-recipes\\\/recipe\\\/thandai\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mymahotsav.com\\\/utsav-recipes\\\/recipe\\\/thandai\\\/\",\"name\":\"Saffron-Rose Holi Thandai Recipe | Chilled Spiced Milk Drink\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mymahotsav.com\\\/utsav-recipes\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mymahotsav.com\\\/utsav-recipes\\\/recipe\\\/thandai\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mymahotsav.com\\\/utsav-recipes\\\/recipe\\\/thandai\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cdnx.mymahotsav.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/21\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/28093743\\\/thandai-hero.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-28T08:40:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-28T10:02:03+00:00\",\"description\":\"Make traditional Holi-special Thandai at home \u2014 a chilled, spiced Indian milk drink with almonds, saffron, fennel and rose. 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