In your thandai, coffee? Put this and other lighthearted variations on the traditional Holi

The festival of colors, Holi, is upon us and festivities are definitely in order—especially since the last two years have been marked by a pandemic and forced people to settle for a muted celebration. This celebration is as much about celebrating with color and water as it is about food and drink specialties.

Although many types of food are shared among friends and family, thandai is the drink that is most spoken about. Together with sugar, saffron, and a blend of fruits, nuts, and spices, this flavorful chilled beverage is produced with milk. Still, there’s nothing wrong with experimenting with the beverage. Even if many may not have had the opportunity to celebrate in large groups in the past, they nonetheless should make the most of the celebration this time around.

With this in mind, Mid-day Online contacted chefs and mixologists in cities to submit creative recipes that consumers might prepare and enjoy at home. They also offer delectable substitutions that include vodka, strawberries, and coffee.

Abhinav Mathur, CEO of Something’s Brewing, presents Coffee Thandai.
It’s customary to sip on a traditional thandai during the Holi celebration, and according to Abhinav Mathur, the fragrant, nutty drink is delicious. He claims that the usage of spices, which are an essential component of Indian cooking and can be found in almost every kind of food across the many cuisines, is mostly to blame for this. He thought of adding caffeine to the beverage since Indians enjoy tea and coffee.

Ingredients: 1 liter milk, 6 tablespoons sugar, a few strands of saffron, 2 tablespoons black coffee, and 1/2 teaspoon rosewater (optional).

30 almonds, 10 cashew nuts (optional), 10 pistachios, 2 tablespoons of melon seeds, 1 tablespoon of poppy seeds, 3/4 to 1 tablespoon of fennel seeds, 1 tablespoon of black peppercorns, and 4–5 green cardamom seeds are needed for the mixture.

Add some chopped nuts, saffron threads, and a few rose petals as garnish.

Method: 1. Soak the paste’s components in water for six to eight hours or overnight.
2. Pour out the moistened blend. After peeling, crush the almonds with a little water to a smooth pulp.
3. Bring the milk to a boil until it begins to bubble.
4. Transfer some milk to another basin and stir in the saffron.
5. Stir the sugar and paste into the heated milk.
6. Simmer until it thickens slightly, about 5 minutes.
7. Include two teaspoons of freshly made coffee.
8. Add milk flavored with saffron.
9. Add the rose water after turning off the heat.
10. You may either strain the milk or drink it straight.
11. Transfer the thandai into glasses for serving.

Kabir Samtani, co-founder of Kaala Chashma, Thane (West), wrote Vodka Thandai.
On the occasion of Holi, city-based pub Kaala Chashma is offering a Vodka Thandai, which is a variation on the traditional thandai with alcohol. “It is a brilliant concoction because it is extremely mild and doesn’t dilute the Thandai flavors,” explains founder Kabir Samtani. It’s classic, yet with a modern touch. This is a fantastic recipe to try if you want to give your Holi a more alcoholic edge.

Ingredients: 400 milliliters of vodka, 1500 milliliters of milk, 250 grams of condensed milk, 125 grams of almonds, 1 tablespoon of black peppercorns, 6 cardamom pods, and 1/2 tablespoon of fennel.

Method: 1. Pulverize the cardamom, peppercorns, and almonds, and sauté into a fine powder.
2. Add the powder and condensed milk to the heated milk.
3. Simmer for half an hour.
4. Chill in the fridge after cooling.
5. Stir in the vodka and serve.

Creator of Zama Organics, Govandi, Shriya Naheta Wadhwa, offers a vegan strawberry thandai.
It may be challenging, particularly for vegans, to celebrate Holi with a glass full of thandai. Fortunately, there are many milk substitutes available. Furthermore, strawberries have a unique flavor that makes a typical glass of the refreshing beverage less boring. “I added strawberries in thandai because the way it complements the sweet scents of rose, cardamom, and saffron is unbelievable,” says founder Shriya Naheta. Wadhwa has replaced ordinary milk with almond milk since it is a vegan alternative, and she claims that the flavor is the same.

Ingredients: ¼ cup crushed or pureed strawberries, 1 cup warm water, 3 tablespoons almonds, 2 heaped tablespoons pistachios, 2 tbsp poppy seeds, ¼ cup melon seeds, 2 tbsp dried rose petals, 1 tsp fennel seeds, ½ tsp whole black pepper, 3–4 green cardamom (husk removed), 2 tbsp hemp seeds, 1 pinch of saffron strands, sugar, ½ cup chilled almond milk or any plant-based milk, 8 cups chilled almond milk or any plant-based milk, ice cubes as needed, and a few chopped rose petals, chopped almonds, pistachios, and saffron strands to garnish.

Method: 1. Pour a cup of warm water into a bowl.
2. Next, include the fennel seeds, dried rose petals, almonds, pistachios, poppy, melon, and black pepper.
3. Thoroughly combine them and set them aside for a few hours. After soaking, transfer the fluid to a blender and add the sugar, cardamom, hemp, and saffron seeds, as well as crushed or pureed strawberries.

4. Process it in a blender until a fine paste forms.
5. Fill a glass with roughly 4 teaspoons of the prepared thandai paste.
6. Include the cold milk and stir well, including a few ice cubes.
7. Add chopped almonds, saffron threads, and rose petals as garnish, then serve right away.

Manoj Jangid, director of food and beverage at the JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar in Andheri East, prepared the tapioca thandai.
While other restaurants in the city employ a range of ingredients, such as coffee, vodka, and strawberries, served with almond milk, JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar adds a regional flavor to the classic thandai. According to Manoj Jangid, the five-star establishment uses tapioca to boost the drink’s sweetness during Holi. This intriguing creation could be perfect for you if you like tapioca.

Components:

Thadai Masala: 35–40 blanched almonds, 20 whole black peppercorns, 4 tsp fennel seeds, 2 tbsp watermelon seeds, 15-20 green cardamom pods,

The Thandai
One liter or about four cups of whole milk, fifty grams or half a cup of sugar, or to taste Two to three tablespoons (30 to 45 milliliters) of rose water, twenty to twenty-five tapioca pearls, three to four saffron threads, chopped rose petals, and sliced almonds for decoration.

Technique:

Thandai Masala with Tapioca
1. Let the almonds cool. After soaking in hot water for ten to fifteen minutes, peel off the skin. It would be simple to pull off.
2. Blend the blanched almonds with the cardamom pods, fennel, poppy, and peppercorns. Blend into a silky paste. If necessary, you may add a small amount of milk to ground. After preparing the thandai masala, save it.

Thandai Tapioca
1. In a pan over medium heat, cook the milk. Stir occasionally and let it gently boil.
2. Take out two to three tablespoons of the hot milk from the pan and place them in a small dish while the milk is heating up.

3. Add the crushed saffron strands to the heated milk by rubbing them between your fingers. Wait for it to get a lovely golden hue.4. After the milk reaches a boiling point, reduce the heat and mix in the Thandai masala. Toss to combine all the ingredients.
5. Include the sugar syrup. Switch off the heating source.
6. Pour the milk and saffron mixture into the pan and mix. Allow to cool, Thandai.
7. Stir in rose water after 30 minutes. Before we strain, it’s critical that the milk absorb all of the spices.
8. Pour the thandai through two sieves into a pitcher, then mix with the tapioca pearls.

9. To extract as much flavor as possible from the spices, press the firm thandai masala that gathers in the sieve with the back of a spoon as you drain it.
10. Place the pitcher in the fridge and let it cool, ideally for the whole night.
11. To serve, transfer the thandai into glasses and decorate with almond, rose petal, and saffron threads, as well as cut nuts like pistachios.

Pink by Woodside Inn’s beverage manager, Harshad Koli, is available at all locations
According to Harshad Koli, the Woodside Inn’s Holi special menu has an explosion of flavors in each dish that represents a distinct color. Their “Pink cocktail” is a delightful concoction of dried gulkand, tequila, rose milk, and maple syrup. Koli adds, “As milk and rose are the most popular components during Holi, they serve as the foundation for this technique-forward drink. By clarifying it while keeping the milk’s smoothness and rose-floral undertones, we go one step further. Tequila is added to it, which elevates the beverage to a new level.

The ingredients are as follows: 120 ml of clarified rose milk, 60 ml of tequila, 20 ml of maple syrup, and dried gulkand for garnish.

Method: 1. Fill a glass with tequila, then add the maple syrup and rose milk.
2. Give everything a good stir.
3. Garnish with the dehydrated gulkand and serve cold.