Thanda Matlab ‘Thandai’

The colours of Holi are probably still on your face and hopefully the mask to guard against swine flu is off. Well, it would be if you had the traditional Holi meal—the one and only Thandai—the spices, the herbs, the nuts and the milk with sugar. Let’s talk about sugar first. Boss, a can of cola has at least 8 teaspoons of sugar and thandai will have bar­ely 1 or 2. So please, by any standard, whether diabetic, obese, heart disease, stress or whatever, you are in a safe zone to slurp up.

Now that that fear is taken care of, let’s look at what really is the magic in than­dai and why India traditionally has it during Holi, at the onset of summer, and how it prevents the heat from getting on your nerves. The clever use of almonds, khus-khus, pepper, cardamom, saffron and saunf makes for a really powerful energiser. One that uplifts your mood and allows you to ride smoothly over rough times. It rest­o­res your hormones to a state of balance. It is also rich in antioxidants, just that your grandmom didn’t sell it to you on that peg. But most importantly, it’s a great digestive aid, one that restores the mucus lining and gut-friendly bacteria.

And yes, it’s great to taste too. So, though we are fed on a diet of ‘thanda matlab’, know that most of these drinks that claim to quench your thirst are dehydrating in nature. Not just the sugar but everything about them robs your body of the electrolyte balance. If you want the summers to be free of flatulence, acidity and bloating, you set that foundation with thandai.