Thandai Tastes Even Better With These 6 Scrumptious Snacks
Come spring season and all its accompanying festivals celebrating colours, ripe harvests and a general sense of abundance, it ushers in a time for revelry and fun which is best savoured with delicious foods, tasty drinks and families and friends gathering together for a meal. One of the most popular beverages prepared during this festive period is the thandai, a coolant made from lots of rich flavours and aromatics that make it a perfectly luxurious treat for celebratory affairs. Preparing thandai is an absolute joy too, you grind fennel seeds, almonds, pepper and poppy seeds together with lots of cardamom, saffron and sugar, all of which is added to milk to imbue it with some potent fragrances and lots of depth.
Thandai is served on happy occasions along with a plateful of goodies that are both sweet and savoury. The drink itself is mildly sweet because the saccharine quality of the sugar is undercut by the aroma of rose petals, the slightly spicy notes of cardamom and the umami hints of poppy seeds and fennel seeds. Unsurprisingly, thandai pairs well with lots of different finger foods that are crunchy, mouth watering delights, ideal for high tea or afternoon snacks.
Read on below to know more about some of the spicy, tangy and sweet finger foods you can serve when you prepare thandai for your guests this season:
Samosa
A popular street food across many regions in the Indian subcontinent, the samosa can be paired splendidly with the mildly sweet thandai. Made from spicy potato stuffing that is packed into folds of dough, deep fried to achieve heavenly crunchiness, the heat of the samosas balances the sweet aromas of thandai. Serve the samosas with spicy mint chutney and tangy tamarind chutney along with a piece of salted, fried chilli so it adds just a touch of a spicy kick to your palate.
Papdi Chaat
Thandai contains lots of indulgent, luxurious flavours that give the drink depth and richness. Pair this decadent and creamy concoction with a crispy and fun papdi chaat that contains all the goodness of tangy tamarind chutney, spicy mint chutney, sweet curd and chopped up onions and tomatoes that adorn the crispy papdi. The airy, light textures of the papdi chaat accompany the luxe quality of thandai very well, making it the ideal finger food at big gatherings.
Pakora
If there is one finger food which is thoroughly hard to resist whenever it is offered – no matter the hour in the day – it is the pakora! Deep fried until they are indulgently crispy, pakoras can be prepared using different veggies and fruits coated in thick batter and served with a spicy coriander and mint chutney. You can pair these delights that can be quickly popped into your mouth with thandai so that the complex flavours of the pakoras and thandai sing on your palate to complete an indulgent afternoon tea.
Jalebi
Thandai pairs well with many sweet snacks too, one of the most prominent ones being the jalebi which is deep fried flour scented with saffron and soaked in sugar syrup so it acquires a deliciously sweet taste. The thandai is a splendid offering with jalebi particularly as a breakfast special, because the spices in the drink undercut some of the sweetness of this warm finger food to arrive at a perfect flavour balance.
Gujiya
Made as both a sweet and savoury snack, gujiya takes many forms in different regions across the Indian subcontinent. This crescent shaped treat is stuffed with coconut, peas, onions and lots of other veggie alternatives that are packed in semolina and all purpose flour dough. You can pair this rather versatile treat with thandai because its simple flavours nicely complement the drink’s cooling properties.
Paneer Tikka
What pairs rather fruitfully with thandai to arrive at a very complex coming together of diverse flavours is an old fashioned paneer tikka. Slices of paneer marinated in curd, mint and lots of spices are popped into the tandoor to give them a perfect cook. The thandai brings a bit of freshness into this smoky and intense preparation. This pairing is the perfect alternative for late evening parties when you serve appetisers with different mocktail options.
