Thandai Masala Recipe | Thandai Powder

A flavorful mix of seeds, nuts, saffron and rose petals; thandai masala comes handy to make the popular and refreshing drink thandai or thandai flavored desserts. 

Plus, with under 5 minutes of time and only a few ingredients it is easy to make at home for Holi or through the summer months.

Holi, the festival of color in India is celebrated throughout the country with fun and frolic. This festival is a way to welcome the Spring season after months of cold. Moreover, it is a way for people to shrug their inhibitions and start fresh. Read more about Holi on Wikipedia.

A lot of cultures celebrate this festival with colors, water balloons and lots of water. Along with the festivities, there is a lot of food for the festival. Thandai, dahi bhalla and gujiya are among the stars for the festival.

Jump to:

• What is Thandai
• What is Thandai Masala
• Why this recipe works
• Ingredients and Substitutions
• How to make this recipe
• Expert Tips and Notes
• Recipe FAQs
• More recipes to try
• Thandai Masala

What is Thandai

Thandai is also known as Sardai in some places. It is a milk based drink that is perfect for Holi and other festivals like Mahashivratri.

Made using a special mix of seeds, flowers and nuts; this drink has amazing cooling properties for the warmer spring season across the country.

Often Bhang; which is the edible part of cannabis like leaves and buds is a part of the drink. It creates a temporary hallucination state. Full fat milk and sugar enhance this further. 

What is Thandai Masala

Thandai masala is a powdered mix of mixed seeds, nuts, rose petals etc. It comes super handy to make Thandai quickly. Plus, this mix is great for making thandai for a couple of months when refrigerated.

Whether you are looking to make Thandai or recipes using the thandai mix; this masala is great. I like to have some of this masala year round in my refrigerator. And given the spices in this mix, a little amount goes a long way!

One can use either of mortar pestle, spice mixer or regular blender to make the masala. Having a spice mixer does help quite a bit in this case. 

Why this recipe works

• This masala is quick and easy to make. It only involves mixing, blending and transferring to a jar. Once you have this ready, making thandai is super easy.
• While the masala is great for thandai; it works equally well for other recipes like Rose Thandai, gujiya etc.
• Contrary to traditional thandai recipe where the ingredients are blend together with water, we only blend the dry ingredients here. That way the masala has a much longer shelf life.
• The recipe is pretty versatile. Add the nuts you have, replace the seeds with the ones you have at hand. Moreover, add ingredients like saffron, rose petals etc. if available.

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Nuts: Nuts form the body of the masala. Almonds are a must-have for the recipe. Adding cashews and pistachios works well too. Pistachios tend to give a slight green hue to the masala and the thandai. Use them if you like that. 
• Seeds: We use a bunch of seeds in the recipe. Cardamom seeds and pods, melon seeds, peppercorns, white poppy seeds and fennel are great. However, if you do not have any of these skip them. Adding them all does give the Thandai it's characteristic taste. Most of these are easily available in grocery stores as well as Indian stores. 
• Dry rose Petals/ buds: This is my favorite flavoring ingredient for Indian recipes. It not only gives a characteristic taste it also gives a deep flavor and fragrance to everything! Highly recommend these rose buds for the masala as well. 
• Saffron: An optional ingredient in the masala; saffron is great for thandai. Crushed saffron tends to give a lot of flavor and color to the drink and so I would recommend adding it.  

While these ingredients make a great mix together, not having them all is common. Make the masala with the available ones and skip the rest.

See the recipe card for detailed ingredient information, measurements and nutrition.

How to make this recipe

1- Add all the ingredients to a dry spice/ coffee grinder. Pro Tip: Dry roast the ingredients before adding to the grinder. That way the flavors tend to be bolder.

2- Grind till you get a coarse powder.

3- Sieve if desired; this will remove all the large bits of seeds and nuts. Then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. 

4- To make Thandai; heat 2 cups of milk in a pan till hot. Add in 2 teaspoon sugar and 2 tablespoon of thandai masala. Mix well and serve warm or cold.  

Expert Tips and Notes

• Use a dry spice or coffee grinder. It helps make the thandai powder without releasing any oils from the nuts and seeds.
• If using a blender, blend in small successions. That reduces the oil releasing from the nuts and seeds.
• Dry roast the ingredients if desired. This method makes the masala more flavorful.
• We do not need to roast or soak any ingredient. Just make sure they are all at room temperature when grinding.
• Store the Thandai masala in an airtight container. Refrigerate for up to 2-3 months and use as desired. 

Recipe FAQs

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