Thandaai

Holi is supe duper fun at my place! It's bound to be when you've got a six year old boy :)! He enjoys it so much...the colours, the water ballons, pichkari!! I give him all that yummy food which he enjoys just as much as the colour and stuff...gujiyaas and laddoos appear and disappear fast from the plates ;) but these are for him so it's bound to happen! What's for us...well it's thandaai...the little one doesn't enjoy it yet...it's bit spicy for his tastebuds...so I make it just for me and hubby in large quantities.....no there's no bhaang in it before you get any ideas..it's spicy and tasty!! :)

So let's the celebrations begin with this traditional Thandaai :)

Holi hai bhai holi hai......bura naa maano holi hai :) :) 

Ingredients:

• 1 liter full cream milk
• 20-25 almonds 
• 20-25 cashews 
• 20- 25 pistachio
• 2 tbsp fennel seeds
• 3 tbsp poppy seeds
• 2 tbsp melon seeds
• 8-10 black peppercorns
• 8-10 green cardamom
• 10-15 edible rose petals
• Few strands of saffron
• Sugar to taste
  

Directions:

• Soak almonds, cashews, pistachios, poppy seeds, melon seeds and fennel seeds in  water for an hour. Peel almonds and make a fine paste of all these ingredients using some milk. Keep aside.
• Bring milk to boil, add cardamom seeds, rose petals, saffron strands and sugar to the boiling milk and simmer the flame. Add the ground paste to the milk and simmer the flame for 4-5 minutes.
• Strain and refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.
• Garnish with rose petals and few saffron strands.
• Serve chilled.