Spices and Recipes

Ingredients:

• 1 kg sugar
• ½ kg water
• 40-50 almonds
• ½ cup saunf
• 30 cardamom pods
• ¼ cup black peppercorns whole
• 1 tbsp khuskhus
• ½ tsp rose water
• 1 tbsp kharbooj / tarbooj seeds skinned

Method:

1. Bring Sugar and water to boil.
2. After making sure all the sugar is dissolved remove from heat and cool completely.
3. Clean all other dry ingredients.
4. Soak each in water separately for 3-4 hours.
5. Drain all soaked ingredients.
6. Peel the almonds.
7. Blend all the ingredients to a very fine paste.
8. Place a strainer over a vessel and strain the blended liquid, pressing with back of a spoon, extracting the liquid into vessel.
9. Add more syrup, a little at a time to extract more.
10. Pour back husk with some more syrup and blend again, strain and repeat till all the syrup is gone and residue becomes dry and husk like.
11. Your thandai concentrate is now ready to be stored in clean airtight glass bottles. It has a shelf life (refrigerated) of 6 months.
12. Ready to serve.
13. Blend milk, thandai and few ice cubes and serve chilled in tall glasses.

It is Indian tradition to ask for tea or cold drinks to any visiting guests. The following cocktail is a great option to offer your guests to cool themselves from the heat.

Ingredients:

• 4 large apples
• 4 tbsp sugar
• 6 bottles lemonade
• 1 bottle soda
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1½ teacups orange squash (approx)
• chopped fruits (seasonal)
• crushed ice to serve

Method:

1. Keep the lemonade and soda bottles to chill.
2. Peel and cut the apples into big pieces.
3. Put the sugar, lemon juice and 1 teacup of water and allow to cook.
4. When cooked, blend in a liquidizer.
5. Before serving put the orange squash and the chilled lemonade and soda and stir well.
6. Serve ice-cold with chopped fruit and crushed ice.