Masala Chaas | Masala Taak | How to Make Masala Chaas | Indian Summer Drinks

Masala Chaas #Recipe

Masala Chaas is a yogurt based drink. It is yummy and it is very good for health in summer months. It helps to cool the body, aids in digestion and keeps you hydrated. The best thing about it is that it is so simple to make it – just get all the ingredients and blend it and it is ready to be gulped down.

This time of the year is the time to indulge in some cool drinks and I am doing just that. Past few days, I am guzzling down large glassfuls of ‘Masala Chaas’ or ‘Masala Taak’ as it is called in Maharashtra. 

The last week of March 2017 has seen mercury rising steeply here in Pune. The heat is relentless; one look outside the window in the afternoon will make your eyes squint and make your head dizzy. Forget about stepping out in the sun – else the menacing rays of sun with scorch your body.

Such is the heat that I keep all the curtains drawn in all the rooms; the fans are doing overtime running at full speed all the time. When things look unmanageable, the air conditioner also steps in. Apart from keeping the house cool, it is also important to keep our bodies cool and hydrated. Drinking lots of water and fluids is very important and they are the only things that are keeping me sane in this hot weather.

Looking for more summer drink ideas – check out Sweet Lime Soda, Ginger Mint Lemonade, Makhanya Lassi, Blueberry Lemonade or Strawberry Lemonade

How to Make Masala Chaas| Simple Masala Chaas Recipe

Ingredients:

250 ml yogurt

300 ml water

½ tsp roasted cumin powder

½ tsp black salt or to taste

7-8 mint leaves + extra for garnishing

2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves

1 tsp taak masala or chaat masala + extra for garnishing

Ice cubes for serving (optional)

Process:

1. Add all the ingredients in a blender and blend it till the mixture is frothy. 

2. Add ice cubes into two tall glasses and pour the Chaas equally into them. Garnish with mint leaves and taak or chaat masala. Serve Chilled.

Notes:

1. This yogurt based drink is common all across India. However, some regions have their own simple variations. Some common variations are adding a green chili for some spice or ginger, asafoetida (hing), curry leaves and black pepper. All of these helps in digestion.

2. I have used store bought taak masala. But it can be easily substituted with chaat masala.

What cool drinks you are indulging in to beat the heat? Do share.

Thank you for stopping by! Cheers!

Thandai Syrup Recipe | How to Make Thandai Syrup at Home From Scratch | Holi Recipes

Thandai is rich milk based Indian drink. It is most popularly consumed during the Indian festival of colours – Holi. I have been making Thandai syrup/concentrate at home for past couple of years and believe me it is so simple to make it that you would never want to get a bottle of ready-made Thandai syrup. In this post, I am going to tell you how to make Thandai Syrup at home from scratch.

It is one of those stellar recipes that I discovered when I started food blogging years ago. I had tried it from here and instantly I fell in love with the recipe. I had even done a blog post on it here and after all these years I think it seems to be lost in the labyrinths of this blog. So, I think it is worth re-posting it. Since I am making it for quite some time now; I have fine-tuned the recipe to my own liking and taste.

I like to believe that Thandai is a drink fit for the Royals – with almonds, saffron, cardamom, rose water, et al, in the right amounts you cannot go wrong. One glance at the recipe and it may seem to be a daunting one, but is NOT.  

Read the recipe well; gather all the ingredients at one place before you set out to make it. 

Original Post

How to Make Thandai Syrup from Scratch

Yields -  1 litre of ready-to-use Thandai syrup

Prep Time: 20 minutes + soaking time

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1/2 cup almonds, soaked overnight and blanched

Soak these together in water overnight

3 tbsp poppy seeds

3 tbsp dried melon seeds

Soak these ingredients in ¼ cup of water overnight and then grind it

1 tbsp green cardamom
3 tbsp whole black pepper 

3 tbsp fennel seeds

1 kg sugar
1 cup water + add 1/4 cup more if needed
3 tbsp rose petal spread (Gulkand)
25-30 strands saffron (Rub it in a pestle and mortar with  a few drops of water and sugar crystals)
1 tsp rose water 

Process:

1. In a blender jar add the blanched almonds. Drain water from poppy seeds and melon seeds and tip them into the mixer jar and using very little water grind it into a fine paste. Strain through a muslin cloth and extract all the liquid and keep aside. You may add little water to the residue and churn it again in the mixer again and repeat the process of straining again.

2. Add the rose petal spread to the ground cardamom-pepper-fennel mixture and mix well. Strain through a fine plastic net and extract all the liquid and keep aside. It is okay if the extracted liquid has some fine residue. 

3. Mix both the extracted liquids and keep aside.

4. Add the sugar and 1 cup of water in a deep thick bottom pan and cook until the sugar dissolves.

It may take some time for the sugar to dissolve. Bring it to boil and simmer for a couple of minutes.

5. Remove from the heat and let it cool for a couple of minutes. Add the extracted liquid to it and stir.

Heat it again and bring it to a boil and then turn the heat to medium and simmer for 7-10 minutes, stirring constantly.

6. Remove from the heat and cool till warm and then add the rubbed saffron mixture and rose water and mix well.When the Thandai syrup completely cools down, use a funnel to pour into a sterilized bottle. It keeps well for at least 3 months when kept in the refrigerator.

7. To make a glass of Thandai add 2 tbsp syrup and top it with 200 ml chilled milk. Stir vigorously. Garnish with almond slivers, chopped pistachios and saffron strands.

Notes: 

1. Don't be tempted to add more than 1+ 1/4 cup of water to 1 kg sugar, else the final syrup will be very thin.

2. If the syrup crystallizes in the process of cooling, add 1/4 cup of hot water and give it a good stir.

3. If you do not have all the ingredients listed to make thandai, you can try a combination of almonds + cardamom or almonds + kesar to get almond syrup. The process will be same.

4. The residue of almond+poppy seeds+melon seeds can be used in gravies if used on the same day.

5. In order to sterilize a glass bottle with no metal parts on it, place a thoroughly cleaned, washed and dried bottle in microwave and microwave it for 1 minute. Use it to store the Thandai syrup when it comes back to room temperature.

I hope you try out this recipe and enjoy a glass of chilled Thandai to beat the heat this summer. 

Looking for more Holi recipes, check out

Dahi Vada
Namakpare
Papdi Chaat 

Thank you for stopping by! Cheers!

Event Round Up ~ Cool Summer Sips

It has been quite a while since I announced the 'Cool Summer Sips' event and finally today I am up with the round up. I must admit that I didn't give this event the due attention. I was more prone to cough and cold this summer and hence didn't try out as many cool drinks I would have liked. My board for Cool Drinks on Pinterest is full of beautiful summer drinks that need to be tried. I guess there is still time for those.

Coming back to the round up, I have arranged the drinks mostly in chronological order. My event was all about cool drinks, so I have excluded the entries of ice creams. Enjoy this virtual display of cool drinks. Thank you very much for sending in your entries. 

Strawberry Smoothie by Culinary Vibes

Strawberry Lassi by Sobha of Good Food

Strawberry Lassi/Smoothie by Follow Foodie

 

Raspberry Cooler by Anamika of Taste Junction

Mango Lassi by Vardhini of Cooks Joy

Cucumber Cooler by Hema of Aromatic Cooking

Plush Purple Beauty by Food Frenzy

Strawberry Lemonade by Shweta from Shweta in the Kitchen

Strawberry Orange Smoothie by Vardhini of Cooks Joy

Orange Lemon Soda by Vardhini of Cooks Joy

 Watermelon Lemonade by Zaika-E-Hind

Pati Lebur Serbat by Sudeshna of Cook Like a Bong

Pineapple Juice with ginger by Hema of Aromatic Cooking

 

Strawberry Mint Shooter by Geeta of My Veggie Delights

Chikoo Dates Smoothie by Kalyani of Sizzling Tastebuds

Limeade by Johanna GGG

Mango Lassi from Daily Cuppa

Solkadhi by Food Frenzy

  

Apple Oats Smoothie by Ayeesha of Taste of Pearl City

Amras by Chandrani of Cuisine Delights

My contributions: Sweet Lime Soda 

and Blueberry Lassi

Thank you for stopping by! Cheers!

Sweet Lime Soda

When ever I listen to Indian news these days, there is always some piece about the relentless heat that is scorching most parts of India. Luckily, I live in a country where the temperature barely soars over mid twenties. Most of the time it varies between pleasant to cold(or to very cold). I have almost forgotten how it feels to be in 40 degrees and I have no wish to experience the same.

To beat the heat, most people like to have chilled drinks and one of the most popular drink in India is Sweet Lime Soda. I will rank it only second to fresh sugar cane juice. Sweet Lime Soda is nothing but sweet lemonade that uses soda water instead of plain water. A special blend of spices is often used and the resultant is often termed as Masala Soda. Here I have used a blend of roasted cumin and black pepper but, I have strained it as I don't like bits of spices in my drink. You may however choose not to strain it. Lets see how I make this summer delight drink.

500ml of soda water ( I use half plain water and half soda water)
1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar (Adjust to taste)
1/2 tsp black salt
1/2 tsp roasted cumin powder
1/4 tsp black pepper powder
1/4 cup lemon/lime juice
1/4 cup water
Slices of lime/lemon and mint sprig to garnish
Ice cubes as needed


Process:
1. Mix all the ingredients except the soda water. Stir till all the sugar is dissolved. Strain and divide equally in 4 glasses with ice cubes.
2. Top it up with soda water. Stir and serve immediately if you want to enjoy the fizziness of soda water. Best served chilled.

Linking it to my event - Cool Summer Sips. The last date of the same has been extended to 30th July.

 

Thank you for stopping by! Cheers!

Mint Ginger Lemonade

I have a love and hate relationship with Irish summers. Irish summers for the good part are not sunny but rainy, and the rain is not torrential but dripping and drizzling all the time. That is the part I hate. When it sunny the crowd throngs to the parks to bask in the sun and suddenly and unexpectedly, it will rain and everyone will run for a make shift shelter or open their umbrellas. You can't do without an umbrella in your bag in this country. The month of March had been great weather wise, spring felt like real summer but April has been rather cool and rainy. But, I don't really look at the weather when I want to indulge in something cold. I can have an ice cream with a blanket around me and sip a cool drink even though the weather is not ideal for it. And that is exactly what I am doing now.

For Blog Hop Wednesdays, my partner is Vidya who blogs at kurryleaves and I chose this cool drink to try out from her blog.

 

Mint Ginger Lemonade

Ingredients 

Juice of 1 lemon, about 3-4 tbsp

15-20 mint leaves

1 inch peice of ginger

400 ml chilled water

Ice cubes as needed

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 tsp black salt

Process:

1. Add 60 ml water, mint leaves, lemon juice, sugar and salt and whiz it in a blender to a fine puree. Sieve to get the juice and discard the waste.

2. Divide the juice in2-3 glasses equally. Add ice cubes and top it up with rest of the water and stir. Serve chilled.

 

Check what other blog hoppers are up with here.

Thank you for stopping by. Cheers!

Thandai ~ Spicy Almond Milk ~ Making Thandai Syrup From Scratch ~ Holi Special

It was only sometimes back when we were celebrating New Year and now already 2 months of the new year have passed by and March is here. One thing to look forward to in this month is the Indian festival of Holi. I had ranted a bit about it here last year. I have already geared up with a list of dishes to be prepared for this festival. 

To start off I have made this Thandai. This recipe comes from one of my favorite blogger, Rachana. I had bookmarked this recipe long back, but didn't make it till now since I didn't have the rose petal spread - gulkand, at hand. You can leave it out, but I wanted to follow the recipe to the T. So, I brought it on my last India visit. This recipe is unique from other on the web, cos Rachana gives a step by step method to make thandai syrup which last for months and once it is made, thandai can be whipped up in no time. I can safely say that I am going to make it again when my present stock of thandai syrup is over. Lets hop over tot he recipe.

Recipe Source: Veggi Fare

Ingredients 

1/2 cup almonds, soaked overnight and blanched

Mix and soak these ingredients together overnight

2 tbsp poppy seeds
2 dried melon seeds

Soak these ingredients in ¼ cup of water and then grind it

1/2 tbsp green cardamom
3 tbsp whole black pepper 

1 tbsp fennel seeds


4 cups caster sugar
1 1/4 cup water
2-3 tbsp rose petal spread, gulkand (I used one made by my Grand Mother, you can use store bought as well)
25-30 strands saffron (Rub it in a pestle and mortar with  a few drops of water before adding to syrup for color)
1 tsp rose water
a good pinch of cardamom powder
a good pinch of pepper powder

Process:

1. Grind together the blanched almonds, poppy seeds and melon seeds using very little water. Strain through a muslin cloth and extract all the liquid and keep aside. 
2. Add the rose petal spread to the ground cardamom-pepper-fennel mixture and mix well. Strain through a muslin cloth and extract all the liquid and keep aside. Discard the residue.
3. Mix both the extracted liquids and keep aside.
4. Meanwhile add the 4 cups of sugar and 1 1/4th cup of water in a deep pan and cook until the sugar dissolves. Bring to boil and simmer for a couple of minutes. Remove from the heat and let it cool for a couple of minutes. Add the extracted liquid to it and stir.
5. Heat it again and bring it to a boil and then turn the heat to medium and simmer for 7-10 minutes, stirring constantly.
6. Remove from the heat and cool till warm and then add the saffron strands or rubbed saffron mixture, cardamom powder, pepper powder and rose water and mix well.
7. When the thandai syrup completely cools down store it in sterilized bottle/bottles. It will keep well for months.

Note: 

1. If sugar crystals are formed while cooling the Thandai Syrup, add ½ cup of boiling water to it and stir.

2. I didn't rub the saffron before adding to the syrup so, it did not give out much color, but the flavor was there.

To prepare thandai to serve 1, add 2-3 tsp of the prepared syrup to 200 ml of cold milk and whiz in a blender. Garnish it with chopped nuts. Add ice if you like and serve cold immediately.

Linking it to Holi Fest at Sizzling Tastebuds and Summer Spunk at TomatoBlues

Also sending to Spotlight- Holi. Spotlight series is the brain child of Recipe Junction , Indian Simmer's IndianFoodPalooza and to Priti's Colour N Sweet Holi Fest

Thank you for stopping by! Cheers!

Orange Spritzer ~ Homemade Fanta ~ India Calling!

Finally the day is few hours away!

Some times back, I had mentioned in one of my post that I will be going to India soon and that is the day I am talking about. I am flying to India tomorrow! Yayy!

Days have been busy of late, as I had been preparing for this trip. Finishing reading books I had brought from library, returning unfinished books, shopping, preparing lists for India shopping, packing and preparing the home for DH as he will be making this trip 2 weeks later, cooking things to finish up vegetables from my pantry (and clicking them as well, watch out this space for recipes in coming days)! So, this space has been silent for a couple of days now. 

Today I have chosen to post this refreshing orange drink which I like to call Orange Spritzer, When, I served this to my DH, he said it is just like Fanta! To add a little here, we both love Fanta!

 

The recipe is very simple. You will need:

200ml of freshly squeezed orange juice.(About 3 oranges).

1 tbsp lemon juice.

6-8 ice cubes

3-4 tbsp sugar(as per your taste or the sweetness of the oranges)

120 ml or more chilled soda water.

Sprig of mint to decorate.

Serves 2

Process:

1. In a jar mix add orange juice,lemon juice and sugar. Stir well.
2. Add ice cubes to two tall glasses. Pour the prepared mixture.
3. Top it with chilled soda water and stir. Add a sprig of mint and serve immediately!Enjoy!

This drink is perfect for hot days. Perfect to beat the heat. Here is one glass for you!

Thanks for stopping by! Cheers. 

P.S. I will be back soon with posts from India. Till I write again, stay tuned!

Blog Hop Wednesdays 1 ~ Cranberry Lemonade ~ From RedSpice!

Come Wednesday and here is my first entry to the brand new event, Blog Hop Wednesday started by Radhika. This week I am paired with Madhusmita of Redspice and I have tried this Cranberry Lemonade from her blog. I loved her space and really liked the way she gives the background information about all the dishes she posts.

As it is evident from this  my previous post, I love lemonade. Unlike, my blueberry lemonade this is much quicker as one doesnot have to prepare the syrup. Of course, if you wish you can using fresh cranberries. Infact, it is already in my to-make list when these berries are in season. Only thing I tweaked was I did not use frozen lemonade for making it. Instead I made the lemonade myself.

Here comes the recipe:

Ingredients:
250 ml cold water.
3 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice.
150 ml craberry juice.
A slice of lemon to decorate and ice cubes.

Process:

1. Stir in the sugar in the water and let it dissolve (I didn't go for heating it).

2. Add the lemon juice.

3. Before serving add the cranberry juice and stir well. Add the lemon slice and ice cubes.

4. Serve cold.

 Check out other Blog Hop Wednesday Bloggers and what they are up with for Blog Hop Wednesday

Thank you for stopping by! Cheers!

Lemonade With a Twist ~ Blueberry Lemonade ~ Making It From Scratch!

Summer for me is the time to indulge in cool delights and cool drinks tops my list. One of the most frequently made drink in my house is Indian Lemonade or Sikanji. Infact, it is one of the few simple things I had learned to make as a child. But, sometimes making the same drink every time you have an urge for a cool drink is monotonous. So, I look forward to trying out new things. Blueberry Lemonade is one such creation. It is simple lemonade with homemade blueberry syrup stirred into it, giving a merrier, berrier, lemony cool drink.

Sometimes, when I run out of the homemade bluberry syrup, I mix little blueberry jam with water and strain and use it in instead. I know that sounds weird, but it also tastes good! I am not sure how good it is nutritionally, so I won't encourage you to do the same. But, at times this trick has served my purpose ;-)!

The blueberry syrup can be made in advance and can be refrigerated for 1-2 months. We can also substitute blueberries with other berries to get a variety of flavoured lemonade. But, personally blueberry is my favorite.

Blueberries are very good for health.

~ They are rich in antioxidants. Antioxidants are understood to help neutralise the harmful free radicals that can cause cancer and other serious dieseases. They also help reduce cholesterol.

~ Blueberries are rich in potassium, which is known to regulate blood pressure.

~ Having a bowl of blueberries will keep your stomach happy and bowels clear.

These berries can be easily frozen and can be kept frozen for 5-6 months in zip lock bags.

How to freeze bluberries or any other berries?

Wash the berries and pat dry. Pick any over ripe or rotten berries from the lot. Make sure the berries are completely dry. Spread them in a single layer on a plate and cover it with a cling film and freeze over night. Take them out next day and fill them in a zip lock bag. Squeeze out any air and lock the bag and freeze again. Use as needed.

Coming back to the recipe, lets first prepare the blueberry syrup:

Ingredients:

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries.

5-6 tbsp sugar.

75ml water.

2 tbsp lemon juice.

Process:

1. In a saucepan all the berries, sugar and water and bring it to boil. The berries will start to burst. Turn the heat to medium and add lemon juice.

2. Simmer for 15-20 minutes. Turn off the gas.

3. Let it cool completely. When cooled churn it in a blender and seive the mixture to get rid of any residue.

4. Store in a sterilized jar and keep it in the fridge. Use as needed.

For the blueberry lemonade:

Serves 4

Ingredients:

450ml of water
Juice of 1 lemon (3-4 tbsp, adjust to taste).
5-6 tbsp sugar (Adjust to taste).
A good pinch of black salt.
7-8 ice cubes (optional).

4 tbsp blueberry syrup.

Process:

Mix everything together and stir till the sugar dissolves. Keep aside.

For blueberry lemonade stir in 4 tbsp of bluberry syrup into it and serve!

Enjoy this delicious cool treat this summer! One last peek!

Thank you for stopping by! Cheers!