Thandai Masala Powder Recipe – How To Make Thandai Powder At Home

Thandai is a very popular drink in North India that is mainly served during Holi festival and Maha Shivratri. This drink is the best coolant for body with lots of  health benefits as it is prepared with the combination of nuts, whole spices and milk. Yesterday my neighbor called me to enquire whether we get readymade thandai masala powder or thandai syrup at shops nearby my house. I browsed for some good brands and told her to get Patanjali or Haldirams Thandai powder as these are the well known names to me. She searched in shops but couldn’t get it. So I thought of preparing homemade thandai masala powder and share with her. 

As I had already shared the recipe of thandai from scratch, I know making at home is very easy. I used to make it regularly for every Maha Shivaratri festival along with our South Indian style arisi vella puttu and offer to Lord Shiva. This year I was planning to make the same following my recipe. But now after my neighbor’s suggestion, I wanted to make and store this homemade thandai masala in advance and prepare it quickly on Shivrathri day. I watched some You tube video recipes and adapted this recipe.

I have also watched a video from BBD TV’s travel escapades in which the preparation of thandai with & without bhang from a popular shop in Ujjain was shown.I found it very useful. For this thandai powder recipe, I could see many variations across the web.Some recipes are very simple with just 4 ingredients and some recipes are with bhang as well. But in this recipe, I have not used Bhang. Basically bhang balls are made from hemp seeds and leaves which are washed, cleaned and grinded to a smooth paste. But it should be used in minimum quantity as over dosage induces psychosis, excitement, uncooperativeness and hallucinations.

This is a very simple thandai masala that can be prepared with easily available ingredients. I have used Khus Khus in this recipe. I know its banned in some of the countries. In that case, feel free to skip it.Yesterday I made thandai using this powder and it came out very well. It was refreshing and we loved it a lot. I have passed some of this powder to my neighbor. I hope her family will like it too. Ok, lets see how to make Thandai masala powder at home with step by step pictures.

Thandai masala powder recipe

How to make thandai masala powder recipe at home

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Drinks Recipes

Serves: 12

Prep time: 5 Minutes

Cook time: 10 Minutes

Total time: 15 Minutes

Chitra Ganapathy

INGREDIENTS

1 cup - 250ml Almond/Badam - 1/4 cup Cashew nuts – 2 tbsp Melon seeds - 2 tbsp Khus khus – 3 tbsp Fennel seeds – 2 tbsp ( OR cumin seeds) Pepper corns – 1 tsp Cardamom – 8 nos Nutmeg - Very small piece (optional) Saffron threads - Few Sugar - 1/2 – 3/4 cup Dried Rose petals - 1 tbsp or 15 nos OR rose essence - 1 tsp Pista – 1 tbsp (Optional , I used it) To make thandai ( For one serving) Boiled milk – 1 cup ( At room temperature, use full fat milk) Thandai powder – 1 tbsp ( Adjust) Ice cubes – few ( 2 nos)

HOW TO MAKE THANDAI POWDER - METHOD

Take all the ingredients for thandai masala and keep it ready. Grind them to a fine powder using a mixie. Sieve it and again grind the coarse ones. Use the remaining leftovers for making fresh thandai or lassi. Mix the powder well with a spoon and store in a box. Thandai masala powder is ready ! This powder can be stored for 2 months in an air tight box. Use clean spoon to handle. To make Thandai : Boil thick, full cream milk and let it cool down to room temperature. In a wide bowl, put few ice cubes, add 2 cups of milk and 1 tbsp ( i.e 5-6 tsp) thandai powder. Mix well. Check for taste and add more sugar or thandai powder if needed. Strain it using a cloth strainer( Tea strainer) and serve it. If you want to serve later, refrigerate it till use. It tastes the best only when served chilled. The more the standing time, the more tasty it would be! Straining is more important.Do not forget to strain the milk after adding thandai powder. Enjoy !

Note

There is no hard and fast rule in the quantity of ingredients for masala. You can reduce or increase it as per your like. I felt pistachios are not needed as it was not mentioned in the Ujjain video.Still I had used just 1/2 tbsp of it. Do not add more. It would dominate the other ingredients in flavor. Do not add more pepper corns. The color of thandai is usually sandal in color if its made without bhang. It looks green when bhang is added. Adjust the amount of cardamom and fennel as they are the flavoring ingredients for thandai. Straining is more important. Do not forget to strain the milk after adding thandai powder.

Try this Thandai powder at home and enjoy this refreshing drink instantly at your will !

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How To Make Chocolate At Home Without Coconut Oil – Homemade Chocolate Recipe With Cocoa Powder

Easy homemade chocolate recipe using milk powder and cocoa powder with step by step photos and video !
Wish you all a very happy Valentine’s day !!. When I was looking for some interesting Valentine’s day special recipe, homemade chocolates came to my mind. Long back I have shared a Vegan version of chocolate recipe using cocoa powder,honey and coconut oil. Though it is an easy, perfect and fool proof recipe for homemade chocolate ,the flavor of coconut oil would be dominant which many people don’t like it. Many of my readers who had tried that recipe requested me to share an alternative for coconut oil. I tried it with butter and even with dalda but it didn't work.So I was looking for a chocolate recipe that uses butter and cocoa powder. 

I came across this homemade chocolate recipe without oven in YouTube video . I just halved the quantity of ingredients and tried it today. It came out really well but not tasting like silky smooth Dairy milk. It was pretty good in taste like Five star chocolate with a mildly chewy, fudgy kind. But its quiet addictive to eat :) To make Dairy milk kind of chocolate, we must use cocoa butter to achieve the silky texture. In India, cocoa butter is not easily available and its very costly to buy online too. 

Another easiest option is to melt dark compound or white compound chocolate either in microwave oven or stove top ( Double boiling method) and make chocolates. It tastes really good equal to the store bought ones. Soon I will make a detailed post on that. But this chocolate recipe is made with 4 simple ingredients like milk powder, sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla essence and Butter ( clarified ghee). Cooking procedure is also easy. You don’t need to check for one string consistency sugar syrup. Its just mixing and freezing. Homemade Chocolates would be ready ! Now anyone can make chocolates at home using this recipe. 

This chocolate tastes the best when served chilled. But it stays good for an hour without refrigeration. So you can make this ahead and serve kids for birthday parties. Kids would love this chocolate for sure. Do try this easy homemade chocolate recipe for this Valentine’s day and have a great celebration. Surprise your Husband and Kids with this lovely chocolates this evening. Soon I must try Raksha’s favorite Milk chocolate/ white chocolate as well by replacing cocoa powder with milk powder. Now lets see how to make chocolate at home using cocoa powder and milk powder with step by step photos and a video for better understanding ! Hope you will try and like it.

Easy homemade chocolate recipe - How to make chocolate at home with cocoa powder

Easy homemade chocolate recipe - How to make chocolate at home with cocoa powder with step by step photos and video !

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Chocolates

Serves: 12 Pieces

Prep time: 5 Minutes

Cook time: 60 Minutes

Total time: 65 Minutes

Chitra Ganapathy

INGREDIENTS

1 cup - 250ml ; 1 tbsp – 15ml ( 3 tsp) Milk powder - 2.5 tbsp ( I used Nestle Everyday milk powder ) Cocoa powder - 1.5 tbsp ( I used Kwality brand) Icing sugar or powdered sugar - 4 tbsp Vanilla extract - 1/2 tsp Butter – 3 tbsp ( Soft, at room temperature) Chopped Nuts & raisins - As needed ( optional) Boiled milk at room temperature - 1 to 2 tbsp ( optional, use only if needed)

HOW TO MAKE CHOCOLATE WITH COCOA POWDER

In a bowl, mix milk powder and cocoa powder. Set aside. Boil 5 cups of water in a wide bowl or kadai. Allow it to roll boil well. Switch off the flame. Take a bowl that fits in the kadai. Add 3 tbsp soft butter to it. Keep the bowl inside the hot water kadai. Mix the butter and melt it completely. Keep the bowl inside the hot water throughout the procedure. Add icing sugar or powdered sugar to the melted butter.Mix well. It will resemble a creamy paste. Add milk powder + cocoa powder mixture to this and mix well. It will become a thick paste by absorbing all the butter. Lastly add vanilla essence, mix well. (IF YOU FEEL THE MIXTURE IS TOO THICK, ADD 1 TO 2 TBSP MILK TO LOOSEN IT).  Take a chocolate mould ( Either plastic or silicone mould) and fill the chocolate mix. Pat it  well to level the chocolate. Excess butter may ooze out. Don’t worry. Just fill the mould and freeze it for one hour. Remove the mould and rest it for 5 minutes. Remove the chocolate and enjoy !! Enjoy this Valentine’s day with this simple homemade chocolate recipe !

Note

Butter should be soft at room temperature. So keep it outside for few hours if its hard or soften the butter in microwave for a minute. For variations, you can add finely chopped nuts or raisins to the chocolate batter. Water should be very hot so that butter can melt easily. Remember to keep the bowl inside the hot water throughout the cooking procedure. It helps the chocolate to set well. For making milk chocolate/white chocolate, just replace cocoa powder with milk powder. I used light cocoa powder. If you use dark colored cocoa powder, chocolate tastes like dark chocolate with mild bitterness. You can try to add equal amount of milk powder and cocoa powder i.e 2 tbsp each for more chocolaty taste.

Try this easy, simple chocolate at home and enjoy the occasion !!

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Easy Peanut Ladoo Recipe With Skin |Groundnut Laddu Recipe – Ladoo Varieties

Peanut ladoo recipe with skin adding jaggery / sugar. Last year I tried Kadalai urundai( Kadalai mittai/Peanut chikki) for Karthigai deepam festival. But it wasn’t up to the mark.When I was telling about this to my friend Shalini, she suggested me to try this easy peanut ladoo which was her favorite childhood snack. She shared her recipe with me and told it is called as “Palli laddu / Verusenega pappu ladoo” in Telugu. In other languages, it is Nilakadalai/Verkadalai laddu or kadalai podi urundai in Tamil, Kadalekai unde in Kannada, Shengdana ladoo in Hindi (Marathi).This is an easy ladoo recipe with just 2 ingredients and amazing health benefits.If you have roasted peanuts in hand, you can prepare this ladoo in the next 5 minutes.Ghee is not used in this recipe. So its a low calorie ladoo when compared with other ladoo varieties. Roasted peanuts with Jaggery is a good source of protein & iron. Kids would love this very much. It can be packed for their school snack box. If your kids don't like jaggery, you can add sugar too. Generally this laddu is made by removing the skin of roasted peanuts but I ground the peanuts with skin. So my job has become even more easy. I din’t find much difference in taste or flavor. Sendhil is a big fan of peanut recipes. So he loved this ladoo very much. The same procedure can be used to make till ladoo/Sesame seeds laddu( ellu urundai) as well. Do try this easy, healthy peanut ladoo for your husband and kids evening snacks, reap its health benefits during this winter season.Ok,  Lets see how to make easy peanut laddu with step by step photos !

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Gajar Ka Halwa Recipe Without Khoya In Kadai - Carrot Halwa With Milk

Carrot halwa recipe cooked in a kadai with step by step photo and a video !
Carrot halwa (Gajar Ka halwa In Hindi) is one of the most popular Indian desserts that is loved by all. Long back I had shared “How to prepare carrot halwa in pressure cooker”. That’s my go-to recipe for making easy and quick carrot halwa. 

Yesterday for a change, I prepared this traditional method of making carrot halwa in a kadai by using milk, sugar and ghee. I offered it as prasadam for my Friday Lakshmi Pooja. For making carrot halwa, Delhi carrots are mostly used by North Indians whereas I made it with our South Indian orange carrots(Ooty carrot). 

Traditionally it is prepared in a big iron kadai but I used my non-stick kadai that suits my Induction stove as I wanted to make a video recipe as well. So there are mild deviations from the perfect traditional ones but this one tastes and looks equally good. I have not used condensed milk ( Milk maid) Or Khoya/ mawa. So the preparation time and cooking time takes a bit longer than pressure cooker version. Still the final result makes you forget all the pain. Lets see how to make carrot halwa/ Gajar Halwa at home with step by step photos and video !!

Carrot Halwa Recipe - Gajar Ka Halwa

How to make carrot halwa - Gajar Halwa Recipe using milk

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Sweet

Serves: Serves 2

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cook time: 25 Minutes

Total time: 35 Minutes

Chitra Ganapathy

INGREDIENTS

1 cup - 250ml Carrot - 4 nos OR Grated carrot - 2.5 cups Boiled milk - 1 cup Sugar - 1/2 cup (heaped) Ghee - 3 tbsp Cashews & Almonds/Badam - 5 each ( chopped) Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp

METHOD

Wash and peel the skin of carrots. Grate it using a big sized holes grater. Do not use a small hole grater because halwa turns mushy and the end of cooking. Grate and keep in a plate. In a kadai, heat 2 tbsp ghee and add the grated carrot.Saute well till the raw smell goes off and color of carrot changes to pale orange. It takes nearly 3-5 minutes.  Now add 1 cup of milk and mix well.Keep the flame medium and cover the kadai with a lid. Carrots get cooked in milk. Wait till all the milk is absorbed by the milk. Open the kadai every now & then, stir till bottom to avoid burning. Cooking takes nearly 10-15 minutes. Now add 1/2 cup (heaped)sugar and mix well. Sugar melts and mixture will become watery.Check for taste and add 2 tbsp more sugar if needed. Keep the flame medium and keep stirring till 3/4th of the moisture is lost. When the halwa becomes thick and starts to leave the sides of kadai, add cardamom powder, 1tbsp ghee and mix well. When the halwa becomes thick, gathers in the center with very little moisture, remove it and sprinkle chopped nuts. Serve warm with ice cream or cold ! ** Do not stir the halwa for long time to become thick & dry because when the halwa cools down, it will become hard & chewy.So remove it when there is very little moisture content. This halwa can be refrigerated and stored for a week.Reheat in a microwave for 1 minute and serve warm if needed. Enjoy !

Note

Add more sugar ( 2 tbsp extra) for more sweetness.Sugar can be added any time while cooking carrot halwa. You can use Delhi carrots instead of the regular orange carrot for bright color. Serve warm with your favorite ice cream to enjoy its best taste !

Enjoy this delicious carrot halwa with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Its a blissful combo !!

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Ellu Bella Recipe – Sankranti Ellu Bella Mix

Ellu Bella (Sesame seeds-Jaggery trail mix in English) is one of the most popular Makar Sankranti recipes in Karnataka.This is basically a mix of 5 main ingredients – Sesame seeds, Jaggery, Dried coconut pieces, Roasted Peanuts and Fried Gram dal.During Sankranti festival, this mix sold in small packets in all the shops.This ellu bella mix is exchanged with friends & relatives to celebrate this harvest festival and as a token of love for better bonding of relationship. In Kannada, they call this as Ellu beerodu in which they give a pack of ellu bella mix, betel leaves & nuts, fruits ( preferably banana), Sugar moulds ( Sakkare achu) and sugar cane to the near & dear. I have seen my friends ( School moms group) preparing this ellu bella mix 2-3 days before Sankranti and distribute to all. Being in Karnataka for the past ten years, I wanted to share their traditional sankranti recipes in my blog. So I asked my friend Archana to share the recipe and the method of making ellu bella.She explained patiently and clarified all my doubts on how to cut jaggery & coconut into small pieces etc. Thank you so much Archu. Some people add equal measure of all the ingredients whereas some use according to their preferences. I have just followed my friend’s recipe. I prepared ellu bella for the first time in my house successfully and distributed to Raksha’s friends as well. They all loved it very much.Next year I must try homemade sakkare achu. Now lets see how to make Ellu bella recipe at home with step by step pictures !
Check out my other Karnataka recipes too!

Ellu Bella Recipe

Sankranti Ellu Bella Mix Recipe

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Sweet

Serves: Serves 3

Prep time: 120 Minutes

Cook time: 5 Minutes

Total time: 125 Minutes

Chitra Ganapathy

INGREDIENTS

1 cup - 200ml Roasted peanuts - 1/4 cup Fried gram dal/Hurigadale - 1/4 cup White sesame seeds - 2 tbsp Dried coconut pieces - 2 -3 tbsp Jaggery pieces - 1/4 cup Sugar balls - 2 tbsp ( optional) Sugar coated Jeera or fennel seeds - 2 tbsp

METHOD

Take the whole dried coconut. Grate it using a grater to remove the skin. Slice it using a chips slicer to make thin slices.Chop into very small pieces using a sharp knife. Spread in a plate. Take the jaggery and cut into small blocks using a knife.Then cut them into very small pieces using scissors or nut cracker tool. I used scissors ( Achu vellam/Achu bella works the best. But I used round ones).Spread the jaggery pieces in the plate. Microwave peanuts in high power for 2-3 minutes.Remove in a cover or cloth and rub it well to remove the skin. Break them into 2 and keep aside. Sun dry the coconut & jaggery pieces for 2 – 4 hours OR Dry roast the coconut pieces without changing the color. Warm the jaggery pieces without melting.Sun drying is the best option though. Dry roast sesame seeds till it crackles. Set aside to cool. In a wide bowl, take the roasted, broken peanuts, fried gram dal, sugar balls, jeera mittai, dried coconut pieces and jaggery pieces. Mix well and store in a box. Distribute to your Family & Friends ! Enjoy !

Try this easy,traditional Karnataka special ellu bella mix at home and have a great celebration !

Distribute ellu bella with a pair of banana, betel leaves & nuts, sakkare achu & sugarcane piece as shown below ( sugar cane is missing in the pic )

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Thiruvathirai Kali | How To Make Thiruvathirai Kali Recipe in Pressure cooker

Thiruvathirai also called as Arudra darshan is one of the most important festivals celebrated in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. In most of the Tamil houses, Kali / Rice kali will be prepared and offered to Lord Shiva on this festival day. In my family, my mom has the practice of making thiruvathira kali alone whereas my MIL makes Thiruvadirai kali, 7 kai kootu in pressure cooker and thiruvathirai sweet adai, sambar/thalagam, thayir pachadi along with cooked rice as well. So I follow that every year.

 Long back, I had shared a post for Thiruvathirai adai, kali, kootu recipes. This year, I made a detailed video and wanted to have a separate post in my blog. Thiruvathirai kali is prepared with raw rice and moong dal roasted and ground to a coarse flour, pressure cooked and then mixed with jaggery syrup flavored with cardamom powder, grated coconut and ghee. I always pressure cook rice and dal mixture to make my job easy and to save time. It is one of the tastiest rice kali recipes. My family loves it a lot. 

Basically we make this kali with a fluffy texture but I saw many recipes with kali in Pongal/halwa texture. It purely depends on how we powder the rice+dal. If you want fluffy kali, powder it coarsely else powder it nicely like fine rava. Whatever be the texture, this kali tastes absolutely yummy. Now lets see how to make Thiruvathirai kali recipe with step by step photos and video !!

Check out my thiruvathirai celebration post and Adai, kootu recipes post too !

Thiruvathirai Kali Recipe

Thiruvadirai/Thiruvathirai kali recipe for neivedyam

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Sweet

Serves: 2

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cook time: 20 Minutes

Total time: 30 Minutes

Chitra Ganapathy

INGREDIENTS

1 cup - 240ml Raw rice/Pacharisi - 1/2 cup Moong dal/Paasi paruppu - 1 tbsp Water - 1.5 cups ( to cook rice) For syrup Powdered jaggery - 3/4 cup Water - 1/4 cup Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp Grated coconut - 1/4 cup Ghee - 2 tbsp Cashew nuts - few

HOW TO MAKE THIRUVATHIRAI KALI - METHOD

In a kadai, dry roast moong dal till it turns golden brown in color. Stay nearby and keep roasting patiently. Transfer to a plate. In the same kadai, dry roast rice till it becomes puffy and slightly golden in color. Do it in medium flame. When the vapor starts to come from the kadai while roasting, roasting is done. Rice takes nearly 4-6 minutes for roasting. Transfer to the plate and let them cool down. Grind the rice+ dal to a coarse rava. Pulse it 4 or 5 times using inch button for few seconds. Transfer it to a cooker base. Add 1.5 cups of water ( 1:3) and pressure cook in very low flame for 2 whistles. Open the lid after the steam is released. Mix well and set aside. In a kadai, take the powdered jaggery. Melt it by adding 1/4 cup of water. Strain the impurities in a wire mesh. Again pour the syrup to the washed kadai and boil it. Add grated coconut & cardamom powder. When the syrup starts to roll boil, simmer the flame to low and add the cooked rice+dal mixture. Break all the lumps with  a ladle and keep mixing. Rice absorbs all the syrup and becomes thick and smooth. Switch off the flame. Roast cashews in 2 tbsp ghee till golden in color. Add this to the kali, mix well and serve hot ! Enjoy !

Note

Do not burn the dal or rice while roasting. It spoils the entire flavor of kali. So do it patiently in medium flame. Pressure cook rice & water in the ratio of 1:3 else rice will not be cooked well and kali tastes hard and chewy. Do not add less jaggery, kali tastes bland. Rice & jaggery ratio is 1:1.5 Cardamom powder and grated coconut is a must for kali. It adds flavor. Adding ghee & roasted cashews makes the kali rich. So do add it.

Try this easy, yummy kali at home on this Thiruvathirai festival and Enjoy !!

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