Thandai Souffle

Hello friends! A post after a long time. The past few weeks were very hectic, personal commitments and guests at home.

I am back with my regular recipe posts.

The months of February and March are usually Spring time, however Summer is already here.

Are you wondering as to why am I talking about seasons?

Well! The reason is the delicacy recipe which I shall be sharing today is related to an Indian Spring festival, Holi, the Hindu festival of colours.

Recently I got the privilege of being a part of a Food Bloggers group or rather a small and close knit family of experts some of who are working professionals from different industries, yet sharing a common passion, “Food.”

This post is part of the #foodiemonday #bloghop event. #theme for the Bloghop being fusion recipe using Thandai. #fusionthadairecipes

Hence today’s delicacy has Thandai as the main ingredient for the recipe.

Coming back to the post, Thandai, a sweet milk based drink is a popular summer drink in many parts of India especially in the north. An instant energizer, it has nuts(almond, cashew, pistachios) and flavored spices.

Originally from North India, Thandai or sardai has gained popularity in many parts of the country.

This refreshing drink is also popular in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and in some parts of Peshawar, Pakistan.

Holi Thandai is a traditional beverage with nuts and aromatic spices served during the festival during the day when the mercury level soars high and the body needs some cold refreshment.

Since Holi Thandai is a sweet refreshment, I decided to prepare Thandai Souffle using the homemade thandai paste.

Souffle, a French savoury or dessert delicacy is originally an egg-based baked dish which has a creme sauce or puree or bechamel as the base along with egg-white beaten to a soft peak.

However, today’s Thandai Souffle is a no bake, egg free, agar agar free and gelatin free recipe.

Thandai Souffle

Ingredient

1 cup (120 ml) Milk

200 ml Low Fat Cream (I have used Amul Fresh Cream for this recipe and have removed the whey from the cream), let chill for 20-30 mins along with the whisk/beater, metal bowl in the freezer

5-6 Tbsp Honey or 6-7 Tbsp Sugar

For Thandai Paste

12 Almonds, blanched and peeled

10 Cashew nuts, pre-soaked in water

15 Pistachios, blanched and peeled

2 tsp Fennel seeds/Saunf

1 tsp Poppy seeds/Khuskhus/Posto, pre-soaked in water

3-4 Black or White Peppercorns

4-5 Green Cardamoms/Choti Elaichi

10 dried Rose petals or 1 tsp Rose water or few drops of Rose/Kewra Essence

Few strands of Saffron, soaked in warm milk

Slivers of Almonds and Pistachios for garnishing

Method

1. Grind the pre-soaked dry fruits along with pre-soaked poppy seeds and the saffron-soaked milk with little water if required, to a fine paste. Remove and set aside in a bowl.(if you are using rose water or essence instead of dried rose petals, add along with the dry fruits, else skip and follow step no.3 below)

2.Toast the whole spices (cardamom, peppercorns, fennel seeds) in a pan until the aroma of the toasted spices. Let the toasted spices cool.

3. Now grind the whole spices to a fine powder along with dried rose petals (if you are using them instead of kewra essence or rose water). Add and mix with the above paste.

3.In a pan bring the milk to a boil by adding honey or sugar. Now add the thandai paste and mix well. Let simmer for few minutes. Remove and let the thandai cool to room temperature.

4.In the mean time, remove the chilled cream in the bowl, whisk till soft peaks form starting with medium then high till the cream becomes thick and then switching to medium for a soft peaks. Add and fold it into the liquid thandai mixture.

(It took me 20 mins approx. with a Philips hand blender without ice bath, you can opt for an ice bath if you want by placing the bowl of cream on top of the ice bath)

5.Pour the thandai souffle mixture into dessert bowls or ramekins and refrigerate till the souffle sets.

6.Garnish with the dry fruit slivers and serve chilled.

Note: The Thandai should not be runny, since souffle bechamel sauce has to be slightly dense. It should form ribbon-like pattern when you pour the mixture from a height.

You can also add 1/2 or 1 Tbsp Corn flour to stabilize the cream if you want to.

For this recipe I have used 2/3rd of the thandai paste which I have prepared. You can refrigerate and store the thandai paste for a month in an air tight container.