A 90-Year-Old Thandai Recipe From Lucknow
Lucknow’s iconic Pandit Raja ki Mashoor Thandai shares a recipe for thandai, along with an origin story that goes back almost a century.
In 1936, in Lucknow, there were exactly zero shops selling thandai. And in 1936, Lal ji Maharaj hit upon a novel idea. An adept maker of beverages at home, including sherbets and thandai, he decided to turn his skills into a business. He opened a small shop in the market area at Chowk in Lucknow, naming it after his sons, Ramadhar Shivadhar ki Thandai. The place became an instant success, attracting residents, and even politicians, from the neighbourhood.
“The foundation for the market was laid in our (older) shop. We have seen the area grow around the shop,” says Vinayak Tripathi, a fifth generation family-member carrying on the thandai business. “Many politicians, and people who have grown up around here, have a connection with us. People like Rahul Gandhi, Sanjay Dutt, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Lalji Tandon, Raj Babbar, Amrit Lal Nagar and others have come to our shop to drink thandai. Many would sit and have discussions here.”
Vinod Kumar Tripathi (Raja) at the shop that’s been now named after him.
Over the course of the last century, the shop has changed owners (within the family), found a new location and been renamed to Pandit Raja ki Mashoor Thandai (after Vinayak’s grandfather, Vinod aka Raja). But its USP remains — thandai, and sherbets made of rose, and khas.
Family lore has it that Lalji’s thandai recipe was sourced from local yogis. He then tweaked it to turn it into the success the business is built on. The family uses only the higest quality products available, and everything is prepared either at home or in their warehouse.
“We sell thandai for Rs 60 (250 ml), Rs 70 (300ml) — with or without bhang. Bhang is legal here, and we source it from government thekas. As we cannot sell it ourselves, we offer it as a condiment alongside our thandai,” says Vinayak. Bhang, he adds, when consumed responsibly, provides several health benefits. “It helps in digestion, increases the libido, and acts as a muscle relaxant. A lot of people use it during meditation or in the creative process, as it helps with focus (like Adiyogi Shiv used it).” Try a recipe for bhang ki chutney.
On an average, the shop sells 150 glasses of thandai a day. The number goes up to over 1,000 glasses during Holi and Mahashivratri. On Holi, operations start at 6 AM and the shop stays open until they run out.
Here’s the recipe for the Tripathi family thandai.
RECIPE FOR LAKHNAWI THANDAI
Ingredients
5 litres full fat milk
100 gm fennel seeds
25 gm cardamom
25 gm white pepper
2 gm saffron
200 gm of watermelon, pumpkin, cucumber, kakdi, and bottle gourd seeds
Rose water
Sugar
100 gm mixture of almond, pista, and cashew
Method
Grind the cardamom seeds with a few drops of water on a stone or mortar & pestle. Cardamom doesn't need to be soaked and needs to be removed from its pod. Additionally, you can even roast the cardamom a bit to enhance the smell and flavour.
All the herbs and dry fruits should be soaked in water for at least two hours or ideally, overnight. Make a paste of them in a mixer grinder or a stone grinder. Grind them separately for better flavour.
Strain this paste through a muslin cloth with the help of some milk. If you prefer more texture and fibre in your drink then skip this step.
Soak the saffron in milk or rose water, and mix it directly in the milk.
Once everything is strained, diluted in milk and mixed with saffron, place it in a refrigerator to chill. Do not add ice cubes as it dilutes the Thandai.
Add sugar according to taste and serve the concoction topped with a drop of rose water.
Note: For an even more recreational serving, buy bhang from a government-authorised shop. Dilute it with water and add about 10-20 ml of it to a glass.
ALSO ON GOYA
