Kesar Chandan Thandai Recipe

This recipe is for thandai – a cold, milk-based drink that is very popular in India during the summers. This one is made from kesar (saffron) and chandan (sandalwood paste), and it’s an excellent drink to have after long, tiring day at work. It’s refreshing, calms the body, and is full of essential nutrients!

Ingredients

Saffron – 12-15 strands Almonds - 100 g Sandalwood powder - 25 g Saunf (Fennel seeds) - 25 g Khus-khus (Poppy seeds) - 25 g Muskmelon seeds - 25 g Sooth powder (Dry ginger powder) - 1 tablespoon Black pepper - 1 tablespoon Gulkand (Rose petal preserve) - 100 g Sugar - 750 g Water – 4 cups

Recipe

1. Soak the sandalwood power in water for 8-10 hours. Drain the water out using muslin cloth. Don’t throw the water away. It will be used later.
2. Soak the saffron in a cup of water. In the meanwhile, dissolve the sugar in hot water and make a thick paste. Into this, add the saffron and sandalwood water. Let it cool.
3. Soak almonds, fennel, black pepper, khus-khus, and muskmelon seeds in separate cups of water. After 6-7 hours, drain the excess water and peel the skin off the almonds. Grind all ingredients to a fine paste.
4. Add this mixture into the sugar-saffron-sandalwood paste we prepared in step 2. Now add gulkand and dry ginger powder to it.

Your thandai concentrate is ready. Transfer into a glass bottle and store it in the fridge. This concentrate lasts for a month. Whenever you want to drink it, add 2 parts of cold milk or water to 1 part of the kesar-chandan concentrate. Stir well and serve chilled!

Benefits

Sandalwood is a natural coolant. It helps bring down the body temperature. That’s why this drink is best enjoyed in summers. Sandalwood and saffron are extremely helpful in regulating the vatta and pitta in the body.