Thandai (Spice) Cake

Happy Holi ~ 1 

If wishes come in rainbow colors then 

I would send the brightest one to say Happy Holi ....

India is a land of colors and flavors and the festival of colors or Holi

 truly justifies it . The tradition that started ages back as a festival of 

harvest  took a turn during the epic period and became a  symbolic

depiction  of the immortal  love between Lord Krsna and Radha.  

 Also another story of devotee Prahalad who was saved from the cruel 

hands of his  aunt Holika is also linked to the celebrations .Festivities 

begin by smearing each other's faces with powdered pigments . 

Like all celebrations it is  the time of merrymaking and also feasting , 

right from traditional sweets and  savories to Indo fusion cuisine, 

the delicacies on the tables are simply unending .

The festival is incomplete without the traditional Indian beverage

 Thandai - a drink prepared by pounding together pistachios , almonds, 

saffron, rose petals, pepper , cardamom ,fennel, melon seeds and sugar 

with milk and rosewater . The aroma of this mix is absolutely divine -

 my mother used to mix this fresh concoction with curd to make a lovely

 lassi (smoothie ) , or with gram flour to give a twist to traditional 

ladoos (truffles ). Inspired by her I added some premix to my cake

 batter for a pre Holi bash with friends. 

Thandai is believed to have superb cooling powers to gear one up for 

scorching summers ahead .Earlier  the Thandai  ingredients were

 pounded on  traditional grinding stones but now  readymade pre mix 

Thandai powders are readily available at all grocery stores. Of course 

premix have a much  milder flavor in comparison to freshly pounded

version but then it surely makes the flavor of festivities much easier :) 

The flavors of the mild premix can blend beautifully with any egg , vegan  

or eggfree recipe but a generous sprinkle of chopped nuts , dehydrated

 rose petals,cardamom ,some more saffron and  rose water surely adds

 to the flavor .  I just love the  basic eggless vanilla cake recipe from Nita 

mehta and used it as the base . 

Some shade dried  rose petals from my rose bush gave a perfect 

zing to the recipe . You could dehydrate some fresh petals

 in shade /oven or simply use chopped fresh ones if time is 
a constraint . 

Thandai Cake ( Eggless)

Ingredients 

1 1/2  cup all purpose flour (maida), 1 cup yogurt( room temp), 2 tbsp
 milk, 2 tbsp readymade Thandai powder(sweetened) , 3/4 cup powdered  
sugar ,1/2 tsp baking soda, 1 1/4 tsp baking powder , 1/2 cup refined oil,
 1 cardomom pod coarsly powdered(opt) , 1 tsp dehydrated rose petals (opt) ,
 1/4 cup chopped nuts( almonds and  pistachios) ,6-7 saffron threads,
 1/2 tsp rose water , A few sliced pistachios and rose petals for topping 

Method

Preheat oven to 200C. Sift the refined flour and keep aside.

Whisk together yogurt, milk, thandai powder, saffron, sugar, rose

 water and  cardamom powder till creamy . Sprinkle baking soda and 

 baking powder, gently mix and leave aside for 2-3 mins .Once the mixture 

turns frothy mix in oil . Gently fold in the sifted flour ( make sure not to 

overmix). Mix in the petals and nuts .Pour in a greased and dusted 8" pan

sprinkle the sliced pistachios and  petals  on top and bake in a preheated 

oven at 200C for 10 mins. Reduce the temp to 180 and further bake for 

30-35 mins or till the toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean. 

Cool for 35- 40 mins unmold, slice , sprinkle some powdered 

sugar , chopped rose petals and serve. 

Its advisable to use readymade thandai powders as freshly ground
 homemade powders are much more sharp and aromatic . You might need to 
adjust the sugar in cake owing to the varied  sweetness levels of
readymade  thandai powders.