Holi 2023: Get ready to celebrate with a thandai premix and other unique dishes

A chilled tall tumbler or two of thandai mdash fragrant sweet and refreshing mdash is what the heart longs for after a sunny day of fun and frolic with gulaal The traditional cold drink blends together a variety of seeds and spices with the goodness of milk and sugar and is known to have cooling and energising properties But preparing the beverage from scratch during a house party filled with revelry is no easy feat Chef and recipe developer Saloni Kukreja shows us how to prepare a thandai masala premix that you can use to quickly whip up fresh thandai for guests by adding milk One can also use it to flavour mousse make thandai shakes or icecreams she suggestsShrikhand thandai mousse prepared with the premix by KukrejaInstant thandai masalaIngredients 14 cup almonds 14 cup pistachios 14 cup cashews 1 tbsp poppy seeds 1 tbsp fennel seeds 5 whole cardamom pods 14 tsp peppercorns 12 tsp nutmeg powder A pinch of saffron Rose petalsSaloni KukrejaMethodTo make the thandai masala toast the nuts and seeds together in a pan on low to mediumlow heat stirring continuously for six toseven minutes till they start to brown Donrsquot overheat the spices once they are warm to the touch they are done Cool down everything add the rose petals nutmeg powder a pinch of saffron and blend it to a powder The thandai powder is readyThandai mix by KukrejaColours on your plateHosting a house party or heading to one Stock up your pantry with these fun treatsMumbai resident Sunita Seksaria has a real nose for the best crop of spices from across the country be it peppercorns from Kerala or cardamoms from Meghalaya Using these masalas the Rajasthan native follows an ageold family recipe to create a thandai mix that you can opt for if yoursquore too caught up to make your own Add one to two tsp in 200 ml of milk with sugar and have it chilled She also throws in a potli of slivered almonds pistachios and kesar to top your thandai withCALL 9833390779COST Rs 350 for a jarChocolate paan brownie basketItrsquos a splash of colours at baker and cake artiste Shikha Murarkarsquos kitchen While the kunafa thandai mdash layers of vermicelli with their special thandai cream mdash can serve as the piegravece de reacutesistance for your dessert corner her chocolate paan brownie basket filled with cherries mukhwas and other goodies is perfect to pass around among guests looking for a quick bite Shersquos also baking a thandai mawa tea cakeLOG ON TO mishmashbakeryCALL 9819766027COST Rs 175 each baskets Rs 750 kunafa thandai dessert 700 gm Rs 1100 onwards thandai cakeKunafa thandai dessert by MurarkaFrom bajra methi dhebra with peru canapeacutes to thandai trifle and ratalu took chaat Soam is serving and delivering fun festive specialities You can also curate your own hamper of chaat party essentials from Soam at HomeAT Sadguru Sadan Babulnath RoadLOG ON TO SwiggyCOST Rs 250 onwards for Holi menuThandai custard jar by SonejiBhumika Soneji from Kandivali has infused the richness of thandai into an alltime classic custard Her eggless thandai custard jar layered with cookie crumbs homemade thandai powder butter and custard is topped with Sindhi ghear The latter she tells us is a typical sweet made by the Sindhi community during Holi She also offers mawa gujiyas dipped in sugar syrup It is available without the syrup tooPLACE ORDERS BY March 5LOG ON TO craftybakerinCALL 7977451256COST Rs 225 200 ml custard jar with discount Rs 750 gujiyas per kgTiramisu chandrakalaLuxury mithai venture Nihirarsquos Holi menu blends the traditional with the modern Think apple pie gujiya wrap stuffed with apple sauce and stewed apples wrapped in the traditional lavang latika style and baked with brown sugar and cinnamon or lotus biscoff gujiyas and tiramisu chandrakalas Founders Subha and Arshya Aggarwal can booze up the apple pie gujiya with cognac or tiramisu gujiyas with Baileyrsquos icecream too Check out their extensive collection of alcoholic mithais like gincranberry laddoos Old Monk halwa campari laddoos and moreLOG ON TO nihiraandcoCALL 7042849182COST Rs 125 onwards apple pie gujiya Rs 550 onwards box of assorted gujiyasHappy huesThe colour set PicNimesh DaveLet turmeric marigold hibiscus rose beetroot indigo henna and bael patra colour your Holi with Phoolrsquos range of natural gulaals made from temple flowers Their assorted pack pays a tribute to the colourmakers withcool illustrationsLOG ON TO phoolcoCOST Rs 485