Sweet & Seedy: Thandai
(AKA Bhang; if you add some hash)
photo by Lisa Rohtopia
This is an Indian drink: sweet, creamy & flavored with nuts, cardamom, fennel, rose petals, & poppy seeds. Traditionally this would be made with whole milk-- but the nuts & seeds alone make a milky drink that is dairy- free & can be consumed with other foods (remember Ayurvedic-ly we don’t have milk with other foods). You can make this Thalandi into Bhang, a cannabis infused drink based on the traditional bhang consumed in India during the holiday of Holi. Just add medicated ghee as noted in the recipe, or add some cannabis flowers to the spice mixture so that they are toasted lightly & ground together to activate the THC. Take care with your dosing in either case & don’t overdo the potency!
⅓ C almonds
3 T sunflower
3 T hemp seeds
3 T poppy seeds
3.5 T raw cashews or other nuts
4 C water
1 C raw sugar
1 t fennel seeds
10 black peppercorns
10 green cardamom pods
1 - 1" stick cinnamon
few strands of saffron
20 rose petals, more for garnish
Combine almonds, seeds, cashews, and pistachios with 2 cups of water; soak for 1 hour. Remove & discard skins from almonds & pistachios if needed. Drain nuts & seeds; set aside.
Bring water to a boil in a 2-qt. saucepan. Add sugar & saffron, stirring until sugar is dissolved; set aside. Toast the fennel, peppercorns, cardamom & cinnamon in an skillet over medium heat until fragrant, about 4 minutes; let cool slightly. Transfer spices to a food processor, along with the nut mixture, medicated or plain ghee, 1 tbsp water & rose petals. Puree to a smooth paste. Whisk paste into water, & strain through a fine mesh sieve, pressing on solids. Refrigerate strained mixture until chilled or serve warm. Divide between serving glasses; garnish with grated nutmeg & rose petals, if you like.