Thandai Mein Twist? Mocktail Recipes Ho To Aisi!
One of the most refreshing and cooling quenchers in the repository of Indian drinks and mocktail craft, the thandai is famous for its indulgent mix of ingredients that includes a long list of dried fruits, spices, lots of aromatics, sugar and milk. The drink is served chilled during festive gatherings as much as a ritualistic affair as a cooling beverage to beat the summer heat that comes bearing down on you amidst the celebration of numerous festivals and special occasions. Thandai is then the perfect drink to serve in warm climes especially at those gatherings when you want to offer an alcohol free, but indulgent mocktail alternative.
Over time, mixologists have tried to experiment with different recipes and flavour pairings that would complement the classic thandai recipe to infuse it with slightly different tasting notes. These twists have augmented the overall dramatic feel of the thandai so that the inclusion of additional flavours adds just the right amount of flourish to the drink without hampering its basic taste. In order to arrive at such concoctions, chefs have also started offering thandai mixes, essentially powdered ingredients that can be added to milk, cream or yoghurt to fashion your customised version of thandai.
Read on below to know more about some of these non-alcoholic versions you can offer your guests if you are trying to cut down on your booze:
Mango Thandai
Summers in the tropics mean you can gorge on this delicious, fleshy and sweet fruit which makes a welcome appearance only during the warm months of the year. And to celebrate the ripe yellow fruit, you can add mango pulp or aamras into your thandai mixture, adding to it the silky and sweet qualities of a premium alphonso variety. You can also cut up mangoes and add them to a classic thandai if you want to enjoy their chewy texture. The drink can also be laced with mango syrup to enhance the fruit’s flavour.
Thandai Smoothie
Another mocktail that can be crafted out of thandai is a smoothie made by blending Greek yoghurt or plain yoghurt with thandai mix. Be sure to add only the powder or syrup to this recipe and do away with the milk otherwise you might risk splitting the whole drink. For sweetness, you can add honey or agave syrup to this recipe and blend it with tons of ice. Serve it chilled at a breakfast or brunch served out on your patio.
Thandai Lassi
A perfect mocktail alternative for a luxurious lunch, thandai lassi contains all the goodness of creamy buttermilk or yoghurt blended with thandai mix containing crushed dried fruits and the aromas of spices like cinnamon, cardamom and saffron. Make sure you use thick and creamy, fresh buttermilk to prepare this indulgent mocktail and garnish it with some ground cardamom for its elevated spiced aroma. You can also add a splash of cold water along with ice to adjust the creamy notes of buttermilk in the drink.
Cheesecake Thandai Mocktail
A slightly elaborate mocktail to prepare, this version of the thandai would feel totally worth the effort when the cream cheese infused spiced drink touches your taste buds. It is the perfect dessert-drink alternative during summers and can be put together by mixing kulfi or vanilla ice cream with cream cheese, some cold milk and thandai syrup. Layering your glass with graham crackers adds to the cheesecake feel.
Coconut Thandai
Do away with regular milk and instead add coconut milk or cream to your thandai to introduce a denser variation into the traditional recipe. Coconut cream is thicker and more indulgent, it has a sweeter taste and silkier texture than regular milk so it can infuse the thandai with its own distinct flavour notes, crafting a heavier mix.
Rose Milk Thandai
Rose petals are already a part of your classic thandai recipe but if you want to prepare a drink which favours this floral aroma and flavour, you can prepare the thandai in rose milk. This means all your crushed dried fruits and spices will be built on top of rose syrup or gulkand infused milk, giving your drink a luxurious mouthfeel.
