Thandai Boba Shake
Think of this fun drink as the love child of Bubble Tea and Thandai. Luxe layers of brown sugar boba, jiggly rose jelly, chilled thandai (spiked, if you like), topped with a scoop of thandai kulfi, a dollop of cardamom whipped cream, dried rose petals and crushed pistachios. Cool, creamy and indulgent, this festive shake is a celebration of flavors and textures. A refreshing take on a traditional Holi favorite, it is sure to be a hit with friends and family. I hope you love it as much as we did.
This recipe can be as easy as putting together store-bought ingredients. Feel free to source the thandai, kulfi and boba from the supermarket. However, if you are feeling extra adventurous and prefer making everything from scratch, I’ve got you covered (right down to homemade boba). Along with providing the recipes for the rose jelly and cardamom whipped cream, I have also linked to my thandai, thandai kulfi and homemade boba recipes below. Enjoy!
Recipes
Thandai BoBa Shake
(Serves 4)
Ingredients
4 cups thandai
1 batch thandai kulfi (see note below) or 4 scoops vanilla ice cream
1/2 cup cooked boba
1 cup rose jelly (recipe below)
1/2 cup cardamom whipped cream (recipe below)
1 tbsp dried rose petals
1 tbsp crushed pistachios
Method
To Assemble - Spoon 2 tablespoons of boba into a tall glasses. Top with 1/4 cup of rose jelly squares. Pour in a cup of thandai. Add a scoop of thandai kulfi. Pipe or spoon some whipped cream on top of the shake and garnish it with some dried rose petals and crushed pistachios. Prepare all the shakes the same way. Serve immediately.
Note: Instead of pouring the kulfi mixture into individual kulfi molds, freeze the entire batch in a baking dish or freezer-safe container and scoop out when making the thandai shake.
Rose Jelly
(Makes 1 cup)
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups filtered water
1 1/4 tsp (5 gms) agar agar powder
1/4 cup rose syrup or Rooh Afza
1 tsp rose water
Sugar as needed
2 tsp lemon juice or 1/8 tsp citric acid crystals
Method
In a saucepan, bring the water to a boil over medium heat. Add the agar agar powder and stir until it dissolves. Lower the heat and stir in the rose syrup/Rooh Afza and rose water. Add sugar to taste (the amount will depend on how sweet the rose syrup is) and continue to stir for 5 more minutes. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the lemon juice or citric acid crystals until dissolved.
Pour the rose jelly liquid into a small rectangular pan or dish and allow it to cool to room temperature.
Once cool, cover the pan with cling wrap and refrigerate until the jelly is fully set. Cut into squares and keep them refrigerated until you are ready to assemble the thandai shake.
Cardamom Whipped Cream
(Makes 1/2 cup)
Ingredients
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream, chilled
1 tbsp powdered sugar
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
Method
In a mixing bowl, whip all the ingredients together until the cream. Transfer the whipped cream to a disposable piping bag and keep refrigerated until you assemble the thandai shake.
