Dry fruit powder for milk: a badam pista milk masala you can make at home

It is sold ready-made as badam milk mix or milk masala, but the home version is simple, and you decide exactly what goes in: how sweet, how nutty, how much cardamom, and whether there is any sugar at all.

What goes into dry fruit milk masala?

The base of dry fruit milk masala is almonds, with pistachios for colour and flavour and cashews for creaminess. Cardamom is the main spice; nutmeg is used in a pinch; saffron is optional. Everything else is a family variation.

• Badam (almonds): most of the mix by weight. Everyday Regular Badam works well here; there is no need to grind expensive whole nuts meant for display.
• Pista (pistachio): gives the green flecks and the flavour most people associate with milk masala. We keep Pista Pishori for Milk Masala specifically for grinding.
• Kaju (cashew): makes the milk richer and smoother. As it will be ground anyway, broken Kaju Tukda is the sensible buy.
• Elaichi (green cardamom): the smell of the whole mix. Use the seeds, and grind the husks in too if you like a stronger flavour.
• Jaifal (nutmeg): a small amount only. Too much tastes medicinal.
• Kesar (saffron): optional, for colour and aroma. We do not sell saffron, so buy it wherever you trust.

Our guide to pista kernels, katran and pishori explains why a grinding pista does not need to be the most expensive kernel on the shelf.

What is the ratio for badam pista milk masala?

Our working ratio is 4:2:2 by weight: four parts badam, two parts pista, two parts kaju, plus about 5% cardamom and a quarter of a nutmeg per batch. The table gives it for a batch of roughly 250 g, which suits a family for a few weeks.

Common additions are a spoon of charoli, a spoon of magaj (melon seeds) or a pinch of turmeric. If you want the mix pre-sweetened, grind in powdered sugar or misri at the end; many families leave it unsweetened and sweeten each glass instead.

How do you make dry fruit powder for milk?

Roast the nuts lightly, cool them completely, then grind them in short pulses with the cardamom. The whole job takes about twenty minutes.

1. Roast each nut separately in a dry pan on low heat for a few minutes, stirring, until warm and fragrant but not coloured. Cashews brown fastest, so they go last and come off first.
2. Warm the saffron, if using, for a few seconds in the warm pan off the heat, so it crumbles.
3. Cool everything fully, for at least half an hour. Warm nuts release oil in the grinder and turn to paste.
4. Grind in short pulses, a few seconds at a time, with the cardamom and grated nutmeg. Stop and scrape down between pulses. Running the mixer continuously heats the nuts and makes nut butter.
5. Sieve if you want it fine, and grind the coarse bits again with a spoon of the powder.
6. Store it airtight in a clean, dry glass jar.

A slightly coarse powder is normal and many people prefer it, because the small pieces of pista and badam are pleasant in the glass. For children, grind it as fine as your mixer allows.

How do you use milk masala?

Stir one to two teaspoons into a glass of hot milk, or simmer it in the milk for a couple of minutes, which softens the nuts and spreads the saffron and cardamom through it. It works in cold milk too, though the powder settles; shake or stir before drinking.

The same powder goes into kheer, sheera, lassi and thandai-style drinks. Thandai goes further, adding saunf, black pepper and melon seeds to the nuts; our thandai ingredients page is the place to start for that.

How long does homemade milk masala powder last?

Homemade dry fruit powder keeps for about a month in an airtight jar at room temperature, and about two to three months in the fridge. The nuts are ground, so their oils are exposed to air and turn stale much faster than whole nuts do.

• Use a dry spoon, every time. Moisture makes the powder clump and spoil.
• Keep it away from the stove and sunlight.
• Smell before use. Fresh powder smells of cardamom and sweet nuts. A sharp, bitter or paint-like smell means the fat has gone rancid, and it should be thrown out.
• Make less, more often. A 250 g batch every few weeks tastes better than a kilo made once.

Can children have dry fruit milk masala?

From about age one, many families give children milk with finely ground dry fruit powder, and the ground form avoids the choking risk that whole or chopped nuts carry for small children. Whole nuts should not be given to children under five. For infants under one, and for any child with a known or suspected nut allergy, ask your paediatrician before introducing nuts in any form.

For children, leave out added sugar, keep the nutmeg to a very small pinch or skip it, and grind the powder as fine as you can. Start with half a teaspoon in a glass of milk.

We send badam, pista and kaju across India from our nuts shelf; orders start at ₹1,000 and every order ships free. See today’s price on the Pista Pishori page.

Questions people ask