Thandai- Traditional Holi Recipe

As Holi is just round the corner I decided to post some recipes to get into festival spirit. If you don't know what Holi is, then let me explain. It's a religious spring harvest season festival celebrated on Indian Subcontinent. Even though it's a Hindu festival, other religions believers participate in it equally. It's all about colour, joy, dancing and, like every Indian festival, about some amazing food you can consume wherever you go.

Thandai is refreshing, healthful drink traditionally associated with Holi. India runs on this spicy beverage during energetic festival celebrations. After a fun-filled game of colours, people consume Holi thandai to get refreshed and even more charged up. So if you wanna feel the festival spirit in your home, don’t hesitate and try this recipe.

Ingredients:

½ cup ground almonds

1 ½ cup Milk

4 Tbsp Sugar

 1 ½ tsp whole black pepper

1 Tbsp fennel seeds

2 Tbsp poppy seeds- soaked

4 green cardamom pods

2 tsp rosewater

2 cups water, adjust as needed

1.      Grind black pepper, fennel seeds, poppy seeds, and cardamom.

2.      Using a blender, blend the grinded spices with almonds. Add just enough milk to let the mixture blend into a paste. Blend until creamy.

3.      Add 1 cup of water and sugar blend until sugar dissolve.

4.      Strain the mix through the fine strainer or cheesecloth. Squeeze all the milk out of the nuts by tightening the cloth by wringing it.

5.      Return the left over ground paste to the blender with rest of the water.

6.      Blend again and extract the liquid once more.

7.      You may use the remaining nut pulp for thickening Indian curries or in baking or just discard it.

8.      Mix the almond liquid, milk, and rose water.

9.      Thandai is ready serve over the crush ice.

Enjoy! Happy Holi!

Even more popular drink consumed during Holi is Bhang Ki Thandai. This version of traditional Thandai contains crushed leaves and flowers of female Cannabis plant. In Hinduism it’s associated with Lord Shiva. Bhang has now become synonymous with Holi.

Mango Lassi

Mango lassi garnished with almonds and cashewnuts

Lassi is a cold, yoghurt-based drink of the Indian subcontinent. It is very nourishing and refreshing and is favoured by everyone especially during hot summer afternoons.

Here is a recipe for one of the drink variations- Mango Lassi. You can’t really go wrong with mango lassi. It’s very easy and quick to make.

Ingredients:

-½ can of Kesar mango pulp

-½ cup of plain yoghurt

-2 or 3 Tbsp of sugar (depends on how sweet you like it)

-Milk (or non-diary alternative)

Place all the ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth. Pour lassi into tall glasses.

You can garnish it with strands of saffron or chopped nut or almonds. It can also be decorated with a spoon of whipped cream.

 Indian Lassiwallah

Make the mango lassi to your taste. Everyone has different taste so ingredients ratio will vary for everyone. You can also add more ingredients to enhance the flavour of your lassi.

Other common options:

-          Like mango flavour? Add more mango pulp or blend the fresh mango instead and garnish your drink with small fruit chops.

-          If you want more drink-like add some water of put a few ice cubes in- let them dilute your lassi. For thick and creamy consistence add more yoghurt. Wanna make a dessert out of it- add a scoop of ice cream.

-          To add a ‘spicy kick’ to your lassi use some ground ginger or cardamom powder or even a pinch of medium hot chilli powder.

-          For a tangy and thirst quenching taste add some lime or lemon juice. (But remember you’ll have to add less yoghurt then!)

-          Replace sugar with honey. Or you can also add salt instead of sugar if you prefer.

-          Try it with a hint of rose water. Just add a few drops to enjoy the distinctive flavour.

-          Bored of mango already? Try different fruit like strawberries, bananas, etc. Be   brave and mix a few flavours together. 

No strict rules with this recipe. You can alternate it to your preferences. Play with it and create your own perfect recipe. And don’t forget to share it with us in your comments!!!

Masala Chai- Indian Spiced Tea

It's high time to start with our recipes. Here is something very easy to prepare for the beginning and very typical for South Asian Cuisine- Masala Chai (Spiced Tea).

India runs on chai. This unique and addictive brew is often consumed by Indians up to 4-5 times a day.

Milky, sweet drink is brewed up for a while and it's a perfect antidote to the heat and stress of Indian travel. It will awaken your senses, give you an energy boost and make you feel alive.

Chai Wallahs are everywhere- from busy street corners, train platforms, to pilgrimage sites in the middle of nowhere. When you need a cup of tea, the chai wallah is always near!

Wherever you go in India, on nearly every corner you can find a Chai Wallah- street vendor specializing in making tea all day long.  It's incredibly popular and incredibly cheap- for a steaming glass of tea you'll pay only about 5 rupees (approx. £0.06).

There is no fixed recipe and preparation method for perfect chai and many families and shops have they own unique versions of tea. 

I'm gonna show you the way I make it at home-  following traditional recipe, which is used by hundreds of thousands of Indian housewives.

First of all you'll need the basic ingredients: 

-Strong black teabags (of your choice)

-Water

- Milk (full fat is the best, but semi-skimmed will also do the job)

-Sugar

- Green Cardamom pods

-Cloves

-Cinnamon sticks

-Fresh Ginger 

-Black pepper

Ingredients should be fresh for the best results, but things like cinnamon or ginger can be substituted by their powder versions.

Traditionally cardamom is a dominant note, supplemented by other spices.

Star anise and fennel seeds are also commonly used. Other possible ingredients include nutmeg, coriander, rose flavouring or liquorice root. Also a small amount of cumin, considered a "warm" spice can be used as it's known for medicinal values. 

The Kashmiri version of chai is brewed with green tea instead of black tea and has a more subtle blend of flavourings: almonds, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and sometimes saffron. 

You can use more than one teabag, depends on how strong you want your tea to be and how many people you are making it for. (One teabag definitely won't be enough for a big pot of chai).

Simply pour some water to the pot and place in the teabag and spices.

(Spices can be crushed before adding them)

Bring to boil.

Some people add milk to the mixture at the beginning, but I personally prefer to check first that the tea gets dark and strong enough so the spices and sweeteners do not overpower its taste.

When you're happy with the strength of the tea, add milk and cook for another few minutes.

Keep stirring continuously. 

Add sugar to taste.

The standard water and milk ratio is 1:1 (1 cup of milk+ 1 cup of water to make a cup of tea). This provides smooth taste of chai. However it depends on personal preference.

You can add a bit more water if you don't like it too thick and milky. And also don't forget some water will evaporate in the process.

Now your chai can be strained and is ready to serve. 

Whatever you do remember good Indian food, is never cooked in hurry. The longer you brew your chai the more delicious it gets. Chai making can be fun and it's time well spent.