← Nouns Cooking · Indian

Ingredients

• 30 g Almonds
• 20 g Pistachios
• 15 g melon seeds (char magaz), or more almonds
• 1 tbsp white poppy seeds
• 1 tbsp Fennel seeds
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 8 green cardamom pods, seeds only
• 1 tbsp Dried edible rose petals (optional)
• 150 ml water, for soaking
• 750 ml full-fat milk, chilled
• 1 pinch Saffron
• 60 g Sugar
• 1 tsp rose water (optional)
• 1 handful ice cubes

Method

1. Put the almonds, pistachios, melon seeds, poppy seeds, fennel, peppercorns, cardamom seeds and rose petals in a bowl, cover with the water and soak for at least 2 hours.
2. Warm 2 tbsp of the milk and soak the saffron in it.
3. Blend the soaked nuts and spices with their water to a very smooth paste, adding a splash of milk to help it along.
4. Bring 250 ml of the milk to a simmer with the sugar, stirring until it dissolves. Take it off the heat, stir in the paste and leave to infuse for 10 min.
5. Strain through a fine sieve or muslin into a jug, pressing hard on the solids. Stir in the rest of the cold milk, the saffron milk and the rose water, then chill well.
6. Serve over ice, with a few chopped pistachios on top.

Tips

• Contains nuts. For a vegan version, use almond or oat milk.
• The nut and spice paste keeps for a few days in the fridge, so you can make it ahead.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Hebbar's Kitchen Ministry of Curry BBC Good Food