Thandai, a traditional Indian drink known for its cooling qualities, thandai is especially appreciated on hot summer days. To make it, blend milk with sugar, rose water, saffron, cardamom, almonds, and cashews. This mixture has a smooth and creamy texture when the solids are filtered out.
To prepare a perfect glass of thandai one needs to follow some tips. As it's important to maintain a balanced combination of sweetness, spice, and creaminess by measuring ingredients precisely and blending them properly. Furthermore, obtaining the genuine and revitalising flavour of Thandai depends greatly on the calibre and freshness of the components.
Video credit: YouTube/ Kunal Kapur
1. Use Fresh Ingredients:
For making the best Thandai, you should focus on the use of fresh and quality ingredients to make the drink flavorful. Also, spices like saffron and cardamom provide aromatic flavouring, and the dish texture is made creamy by fresh nuts such as cashews and almonds. Along with that, a fresh ingredient which has more minerals and flavours is used in it, which makes the Thandai valuable for taste and health.
2. Soak Nuts:
The best way to make creamy and smooth thandai is to soak the nuts, especially cashew nuts and almonds, in the water before preparing the drink. Soaked nuts are softer and more easily ground; they produce a smooth, fine, or less coarse texture. This process ensures that the overall enrichment of the Thandai is greater and also makes the extraction of the fats and nutrition of nuts more efficient, hence improving the flavour.
3. Grind Smoothly:
Thandai's marks of excellence come from the fine-grinding of all the ingredients. It is done by grinding a paste of sugar and spices, which were used along with the soaked nuts, into a homogeneous mixture of all the particles having the same texture. To achieve this, every ingredient needs to be present in sufficient quantity so that the resulting product has a balanced taste and texture. After this step, the drink will taste amazingly silky, and creamy and the rich flavours of the ingredients are perfect to have.
4. Chill Ingredients:
The common practice of chilling Thandai ingredients before preparation lifts up the drink's flavour and freshness. The chilled ingredients, which of course the milk and nut paste, are essential for the drink's quality. As evidenced by the fact that the milk and nut paste keep the drink at the ideal temperature, thus enhancing its appeal on warm summer afternoons. Freezing the ingredients maintains the essence of the perfect Thandai and prevents it from tautening, decomposition, and watering-down effects when served with ice cubes.
5. Adjust Sweetness:
Concocting the perfect Thandai is carried out carefully to have it taste neither too sweet nor too sour. After the nut churn and the milk have been mixed, test out the drink and see the sweetness of it. And in case the thandai proves less sweet for your taste, add a little sugar and process until it reaches a perfect mix. Make sure that the just-right amount of sweetness in Thandai, so that it does not overpower the subtle spice base, thus, gradually add sugar and taste to suit your preference.
6. Add Flavourings:
One cannot imagine a perfect thandai without capturing the taste, so the right seasonings are essential. This is it, taking advantage of the different flavourings like saffron, cardamom powder, rose water or kewra water. These flavourings add to Thandai's rich and fragrant profile, in addition to improving the taste overall. This step gives an overall perfection to the drink.
7. Serve Chilled:
To bring out the clear, refreshing flavours of Thandai, it must be served cold. Chilling promotes a pleasant and well-balanced taste by allowing the flavours of the nuts, spices, and other components to mingle. In addition, chilled Thandai is more calming and energising, which makes it the ideal drink to combat summertime heat. Additionally, the cold gives the palate a pleasing sensation that enhances and revitalises the entire drinking experience.