Thandai a special drink for Holi

Holi is a festival celebrated across India with zest and zeal. Its a time for get together, celebration, fun and loads of eating and drinking. As rightly mentioned in the famous bollywood song " Holi ke din dil khil jaate hai, rango me rang mil jate hai. Gile shikwe bhool kar dushman bhi gale mil jaate hai". This means that the magic of Holi is such that even foes become friend after forgetting all the differences. Holi is a time to just let yourself loose, groove into the music, play with colours and water, enjoy with family and friends, play pranks and last but not the least, just eat your heart out. How can someone not associate Holi with thandai and bhang ke pakore. Its a ritual each year to gulp down numerous glasses of thandai and enjoy each and every sip. Thandai is a traditional recipe made out of milk, spices, dry fruits etc. It can be made at home and turns out just awesome for the Holi celebration. It has the cooling effect on the body and right drink for the soaring temperatures. to make this delicious and nutritious drink all you have to do is get the following ingredients for a serving of 4. Good quality dry fruits add a great taste to the thandai. Ingredients:

1. Full cream milk 1 1/2 litres
2. Almonds blanched and peeled 25
3. Cashewnuts soaked 20
4. Pistachios blanched and peeled 30
5. Melon seeds (magaz) soaked 3 tablespoons
6. Poppy seeds (khuskhus/posto) soaked 3 tablespoons
7. Saffron (pure kesar from #pure #mart) a few strands
8. Sugar 1 1/2 cups
9. Green cardamoms 8-10
10. Rose petals 20-25
11. Cinnamon 1 inch stick
12. Black peppercorns 8-10

1. Grind together almonds, cashewnuts, pistachios, melon seeds and poppy seeds with a little milk to a fine paste. Bring milk to a boil in a pan. Add saffron and mix.
2. When the milk begins to boil add sugar and simmer till the sugar melts. Grind green cardamoms, dried rose petals, cinnamon and black peppercorns to a fine powder.
3. Add the paste to the milk and mix well. Simmer for three to four minutes. Add the powdered masala to the milk and mix well. Chill the milk and serve.