milk masala powder recipe with step by step photos – here’s a recipe of a healthy milk masala powder that was made at home during our growing up years. you can make this milk masala powder in bulk and use it whenever required. i have also shared the recipe of instant masala milk in case you want to make it in small quantity. e.g. during festivals like kojagiri poornima which is celebrated in maharashtra, masala doodh is usually made.
when we were in school, mom would give us haldi doodh (hot turmeric milk) in the mornings and a cold or warm beverage of masala milk (depending on the season) in the evenings or nights. well, milk was a compulsory drink in our home. we were never exposed to tea or coffee. an occasional sip of tea or coffee was allowed when we would go out to restaurants.
as a family, we have tried both homemade as well as store brought milk masala powders. my thumbs up will always be for the homemade ones.  this recipe is again a family recipe, with a few variations of my own. just because i know these variations are healthy.
what is added in milk masala powder –Â apart from the dry fruits (almonds, cashews and pistachios) , i have also added pumpkin seeds and dried rose petals. these are not essential and you can skip them. we also add store brought milk powder, but i have skipped it in this recipe. the fragrant spices added are cardamom, black pepper, nutmeg, turmeric and saffron. i have also included fennel seeds which are good for digestion, but you can skip them.
saffron is expensive. so, instead of saffron you can also add turmeric powder (amount mentioned in the recipe notes below). addition of turmeric powder gives a nice faint yellow color and is good for the body too.
masala means a spice blend or a mixture of spices. milk powder in this case, means a ground powdered form of dry fruits & spices which is added to milk. now this fragrant dry fruits and spice blend can also be added to vegan milks like almond milk or cashew milk. personally, i don’t like the taste of plain soy milk. so i am not suggesting it. but you can try with soy milk.
you can also add a few teaspoons of the powder to various indian sweets like phirni, kheer, gulab jamun, sooji halwa and many more.
apart from adding to sweets, i usually make a hot  beverage with milk and this aromatic blend. just add a 2 to 3 teaspoons of the milk powder in a glass of milk (dairy or vegan). add a sweetener like sugar or any sweetener you prefer. stir and serve. you can skip the sugar too. avoid adding honey as a sweetener. honey should not be added to hot drinks, as per ayurveda. honey becomes toxic when heated. if not heating up the milk & serving cold or at room temperature, then you can add honey.
one glass of hot milk with milk masala powder in the night will also help in getting sound sleep. the spice nutmeg in the powder calms, relaxes and helps in getting sleep. with all the dry fruits and spices in it, this milk masala powder makes an excellent drink with milk, for both kids and adults like.
if stored in fridge, then shelf life of this masala powder is about 1 to 2 months.
more how to recipes:
1. rasam powder recipe
2. how to maka pav bhaji masala
3. how to make pulao biryani masala
4. how to make paneer
milk masala powder recipe
INGREDIENTS FOR milk masala powder recipe
- ½ cup almonds (badam)
- ½ cup cashews (kaju)
- ½ cup pistachios (pista) - shells removed
- 20 green cardamoms (hari elaichi or choti elaichi) - only seeds and the husks removed
- 3.5 teaspoon nutmeg powder (jaiphal powder) Or half nutmeg - grated or powdered
- ½ to 1 tablespoon dry rose petals (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper (sabut kali mirch) - if you prefer you can increase the amount to ½ teaspoon
- ½ teaspoon saffron strands (kesar) - check notes if you plan to skip saffron
- 5 tablespoon organic cane sugar or regular sugar. you can also add as required
- 1 teaspoon saunf (aniseeds or fennel seeds/) - optional
- ½ cup pumpkin seeds or melon seeds (magaz) - check notes if not adding pumpkin seeds - optional
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder (haldi) for additional yellow color. check notes if you want to skip saffron and just add turmeric powder, optional
HOW TO MAKE milk masala powder recipe
- heat a pan and add all the dry fruits - almonds, pistachios, cashews, pumpkin seeds/melon seeds.
- dry roast for 3 to 4 minutes on a low flame.
- remove and keep aside in a plate or tray. use fresh nuts and not the ones whose shelf life has expired.
- in the same pan, add the saffron strands.
- stir for more than half a minute, till the color of the saffron changes to a darker shade. remove and keep aside.
- grate the nutmeg and keep aside.
- once the dry fruits cool down, then add everything in a dry grinder jar, including rose petals, fennel, black pepper, turmeric powder, cardamom seeds and sugar. if you have a small dry grinder jar, then you will have to grind in batches. grind to a fine powder.
- remove the milk masala powder and keep in an airtight container or jar. store in the fridge, as the nuts may get rancid. the recipe yields a medium jar of milk powder.
- to serve, dissolve 2 to 3 teaspoons of the milk masala powder in a glass of hot milk or chilled milk. add sugar as required. stir and serve masala milk.
RECIPE TIPS
few tips for milk masala powder recipe
- if you want to skip saffron and add turmeric powder, then just add an overall amount of 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder.
- Â if not adding pumpkin/melon seeds, then reduce the quantity of following spices to:
green cardamoms - 14 to 15
black pepper - 1/8 to 1/4 tsp
fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp (optional)
grated or powdered nutmeg - 2 to 2.5 tsp
turmeric powder - 1/8 to 1/4 tsp (optional) - if stored in fridge, then shelf life of this milk masala powder is about 1 to 2 months.
- for a dairy free version, use almond milk or soy milk. if using soy milk, then use organic and non gmo soy milk.Â
how to make milk masala powder recipe
1. heat a pan and add all the dry fruits – almonds, pistachios, cashews, pumpkin seeds. dry roast for 3 to 4 minutes on a low flame. remove and keep aside in a plate or tray. use fresh nuts to make the milk powder. avoid using dry fruits whose shelf life has expired.
2. in the same pan, add the saffron strands/kesar.
3. stir for more than half a minute, till the color of the saffron changes to a darker shade. remove and keep aside.
4. grate the nutmeg/jaiphal and keep aside.
5. once the dry fruits cool, add everything in a dry grinder jar, including grated nutmeg, rose petals, fennel, turmeric powder, black pepper, cardamoms and sugar. if you have a small dry grinder jar, then you will have to grind in batches. do remove the husks from the green cardamoms and add only the seeds.
6. grind to a fine powder.
7. remove the milk masala powder and keep in an airtight container or jar. store in the fridge, as the nuts may get rancid. the recipe yields a medium jar of milk masala powder. if stored in fridge, then shelf life of this masala powder is about 1 to 2 months.
8. to serve, dissolve 2 to 3 teaspoons of the milk masala powder in a glass of hot milk or chilled milk. add sugar if required. stir and serve masala milk.
Thank u for this recipe..will try soon.
Can i add walnuts also??
yes you can add walnuts.
fantastic recipes , really amazing, thanks ,God bless you.
thank you pranita for the comment and the kind wishes.
Hi dassana
Can I skip sugar and add jaggery powder while serving
you can add jaggery powder.
Hi Dassana,
Thank you for a great recipe. However, I have a question. Can I not use fresh milk instead of powdered milk and stir the masala in and have it?
welcome sulekha. i have also used fresh milk. i have not used milk powder. in the last line in step 8, the word ‘milk powder’ actually means the masala milk powder. i will change it. thanks for getting it to my attention.
Is taking almond and saffron is good in summer?
saffron is heaty and almonds when taken raw are also warming. but if you soak almonds in water overnight, then they become cooling. overnight soaked almonds are cooling and a ground paste or powder made from them can be used in drinks in summers. this milk powder is excellent to be had during winters and monsoons.
Can I skip nutmeg, safforn, dried rose petals.
I have salted pumpkin seeds and salted pistachio. Can I use that?
yes you can skip all the three. i suggest to use seeds and nuts which are not salted.
Do we have to grind the mixture with the cane sugar also or add it while drinking. It’s not mentioned clearly
the sugar is added while grinding. agree its not clear. will change. thanks for letting me know.
At last my daughter liked this recipe after trying many others….
Please keep writing….
thanks vijay
Hi
I have got pistachios which are lightly salted…
Can I use them in the recipe
Or is there a good way to remove salt from them
avoid adding salted pistachios. i don’t think the salt can be easily removed from the pistachios.
Hi thank you so much for your recepie, I have one question, can I replace pumpkin seeds with sunflower seeds?
yes you can.
Thanks for sharing this recipe! The milk masala powder turned out amazing. Tried your kulfi recipe too. Kulfis were AWESOME!!!
welcome ritu. glad to know this.
Hi Dassana,
This one is very good. I have tried this and my daughter liked it. Thank you for posting this. My daughter just turned two. She does not have a sweet tooth. So need some help from you can you please add some more salt , savory recipes for kids. The existing ones I have already tried. Thanks once again.
thanks mamta. i will add some more savory recipes like savory muffins and cookies.
can this powder be consumed in all seasons or in winters only……pls reply
poonam, its better in winters. as in summers it can be heaty. also depends where you stay. good for cold climate.
When dry roasting the nuts and seeds, how do you know when they’re okay before setting them aside? I’m not too sure how much they should be roasted.
claire, they should not get browned… not even light brown. i roast for 2-3 minutes on slow flame. i hope it helps.
Claire, they should be lightly roasted. just roast them for 3 to 4 minutes on a low flame. no need to brown them.
Hi Dassana,
My powder doesn’t dissolve properly in milk, it makes lumps. Please tell me what went wrong..
i think some oil has released from the nuts. what you do is just warm a little milk in a microwave safe glass or bowl. then add the milk powder and make a smooth paste. break the lumps with the back of the spoon. then add remaining of the hot milk and sugar.
Is there any precaution I need to take further..
bhavana, when you are grinding then use the pulsing method. pulse for a few times and then scrap. don’t grind at a stretch. in case, if the grinder becomes hot then let it cool down and again pulse.
Recipe is very easy to make and also would it be benifiting to elder or will it be to heavy in point of calories.. as we live in delhi and winters are very harsh here..
thanks shilpa. no it is not heavy in calories as we are adding few tsp of mixture in milk. it is excellent for winters. you can try these soup recipes also – https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/soup-recipes-veg-soup-recipes/
Can we dry the paneer rose petals and add it mam? (Without buying from the store)
rama, what is paneer rose petals? if you just mean rose petals then you can sundry them and add them.
I tried many of your recipes and are appreciated by my family thanks
welcome lalita. glad to know this.
Thanks for step by step recepie for masala milk…prepared it for the first time I followed your steps& it really came out well
thanks for the feedback.
Hi Dassana,
Great recipe! I had already prepareda dry fruit mix for my baby, but setting your recipe was tempted to drink masala milk. As recommended in your recipe I added grated nutmeg to milk along with the powder and tasted awesome. It’s an amazing drink! A warm cup of masala milk keeps you going in this cold season. However the powder that I ground is quiet grainy I like your smooth finish powder as my baby is only a year old I have to strain it and give it to her, which I don’t like. How do I get a smooth non grainy powder?
thanks hazel. use a good & powerful grinder for grinding the nuts. you have to scrape the sides and continue to grind. but do make sure that oil does not get released from the nuts or seeds. you can also pulse for some seconds, scrape and then again pulse. another way is to seive the grainy powder. then add the remaining granular powder back to the grinder and then grind again. then seive. a bit troublesome, but you will get fine textured powder.