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 – 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.
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Milk Masala Powder
By Dassana Amit
Ingredients
- ½ cup almonds
- ½ cup cashews
- ½ cup pistachios - shells removed
- 20 green cardamoms - 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 - if you prefer you can increase the amount to ½ teaspoon
- ½ teaspoon saffron strands - 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 for additional yellow color. check notes if you want to skip saffron and just add turmeric powder, optional
Instructions
- 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.
Notes
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.
- 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.
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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.
How much does 1/2 cup measure in grams in your recipe. Please let me know. I’ve checked websites but the give different measurements
1/2 (half) cup in grams will be different for different dry ingredients. eg 1/2 cup granulated sugar will measure 100 grams, 1/2 cup whole wheat flour will measure 60 grams. so each solid and dry ingredient will weigh differently.
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.