Celebrate Holi with Thandai, a Creamy, Refreshing Drink You’ll Fall in Love With

Thandai is a popular drink served during Holi (the festival of colors) and Mahashivratri. The refreshing beverage is made with a special blend of spices and nuts like almond, fennel, saffron, sugar, cardamom, and rose petals, which gets shaken with milk and served cold. The result is a luscious, creamy drink you’re sure to fall in love with.

There are two ways to make thandai. The more traditional way involves grinding soaked almonds, cashews, poppy seeds, and spices into a paste, then mixing it with cold milk and straining before serving. The second method, which is also very common, involves making the masala in powdered form. Here, I’m being my very millennial self and going with the latter method, which is much easier and lasts longer at room temperature.

Generally, when making any type of masala, you throw all the spices into a grinder and process until they form a fine powder. But in this case, we’re going to grind the nuts and spices separately before mixing them together. Nuts release oils the more you grind them, so keeping them separate and only grinding for a few seconds at a time ensures you end up with a golden coarse powder (and not nut butter!).

I like to use any leftover masala for sprinkling on top of oatmeal or adding to smoothies. It adds just a hint of cozy to my mornings.