Happy Holi Thandai - Saffron And Spiced Milk

• 6 1/2 cups Milk
• 1/2 cup Sugar + 2Tbsp for saffron
• 10 Black Peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon Saffron strands + extra for garnishing
• 2 teaspoons Cardamom powder
• 2 to 3 tablespoons Poppy seeds
• 2 to 3 tablespoons Fennel Seeds
• 1 Stick of cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons Melon seeds
• 1/4 cup Almonds
• 1/2 cup Pistachio
• 2 tablespoons Rose water Optional

1. Take 1/2 cup of milk in a bowl , and soak the almonds, pistachios, poppy seeds, melon seeds, for half an hour.
2. After half an hour , grind them to smooth paste along with the milk in blender. Keep aside.
3. Boil remaining of the milk in a heavy bottomed pan. Add sugar and saffron and rose water simmer for five minutes. Set aside to cool.
4. Grind green cardamom, cinnamon and peppercorns to a fine powder in a grinder. Add this powder to the hot milk.
5. Now, also add the almond and poppy seeds paste which we had already grind-ed earlier. Mix well into the milk. Once the milk is warm or at room temperature keep it in the refrigerator and chill it.
6. Dissolve saffron in 2 tbsp of milk in a small bowl for garnishing. This step is totally optional. But, it looks nice in presentation.
7. Now, whenever you are ready to serve this. Take glasses and very carefully spread the dissolved saffron on the walls of the glass with the help of a spoon on three or four sides and immediately pour the chilled milk in the glass. So, when we see it from outside the glasses there should some kind of design showing orange color from the saffron on the walls and light yellow or pale yellow milk.
8. Garnish it on top of the milk with some more chopped pistachios or almonds.rnYou need not celebrate Holi to enjoy this glassful of milk! rnHappy Holi!

milk, sugar , black, saffron, cardamom powder, poppy seeds, fennel seeds, cinnamon, melon seeds, almonds, pistachio, water

Taken from food52.com/recipes/16413-happy-holi-thandai-saffron-and-spiced-milk (may not work)