Growing up my Mom made custard very often. And while she would make everything from scratch, custard always happened from the store bought custard powder. I still love the instant custard powder bright color custard loaded with fruits but homemade custard is much smoother in texture and sublime! Custard is not a traditional Holi dish but you add thandai powder to it, and it turns into a fun Holi dessert, that everyone will love.
Instant Thandai Custard:
For Instant Thandai Custard, use the store bought custard powder and add my homemade Thandai powder to it. Mix and simmer in milk and your Instant Thandai Custard will be ready.
What is Thandai?
Thandai is milk-based Holi drink/ summer cooler that is infused with nuts and spices. The spice mix is pretty easy to make at home. It’s a blend of nuts along several spices. When combined together, the flavor is robust! I love the niftiness of this spice mixture. It can be used in several dessert preparations to boost the taste and aroma.
Here is the link to my Thandai Powder Masala
Ingredients I used to prepare the no-bake Thandai Custard
EggsGeletinHeavy CreamMilkThandai Masala Powder
Geletin or agar-agar is a must for no bake custard. The custard will need few hours in the refrigerator (not freezer) to set. If you discard the geletin, then you will need to bake the custard in water bath to set it.
Ingredients I used to prepare the Baked Thandai Custard
EggsHeavy CreamThandai Masala PowderSugar
Eggless Custard
For the eggless version, you will have to substitute egg with corn flour to prepare the custard. If you follow my recipe mentioned below, than use about 2 tablepsoons of corn flour to heavy cream to create that thick consistency of the custard. And then you follow the same step of baking in water bath. For someone who loves colors, it’s quite odd to not enjoy the festival of colors Holi! As a kid, I used to hide in my Mom’s kitchen pantry almost the entire day, terrified of those multicolor faces. Some years, Holi used to fall right on my birthday, making it double difficult for me. The fear lasted for a very long time. The very first time I stepped out to play Holi was in my 20s. It was ok. I was not as thrilled as others. Somehow, it never became my favorite festival. Although that never stopped me from celebrating the day with sweets and snacks! Hope you all had an exciting and super colorful Holi.
