Masala Milk (Masala Doodh)
on Oct 22, 2024, Updated Mar 28, 2025
Masala Milk (Masala Doodh) is a traditional Indian drink made with milk, dried nuts and Indian spices. Make it using my easy recipe.
If you like flavored milk, then try these too – Saffron Milk, Carrot Milk, and Badam Milk.
Masala Doodh is one of the very few milk-based drinks that I enjoy. It has all my favorite Indian flavors – Nuts, saffron, cardamom, and sugar.
In winter, I like to have a cup of this drink after breakfast. Mohit and I sit on our porch, which overlooks the garden. That’s our 15 minutes of calm time before his office meetings start, and I am off to work.
Since I drink it mostly every day in winter, I make a big batch of the powder and refrigerate it. It comes in very handy when making the drink. The ready drink can also be refrigerated for 4-5 days.
About Masala Milk
Masala Milk (Masala Doodh) is a warm and comforting Indian drink. Milk is cooked along with dried nuts, saffron, cardamom, rose petals, and nutmeg and gets infused with all these delicious flavors making it a delight to sip on.
It is easy to make and needs just a handful of ingredients which are mostly available in any Indian kitchen.
Masala doodh is mostly made in winter as it gives warmth to the body. It is also popularly made for the festival of Kojagiri Poornima in Maharashtra.
You can also serve it as a side dish with your festive meals or drink it on a cold winter or monsoon day to warm the body and prevent from getting cold.
In summer, you can chill it for a few hours and serve chilled over a few ice cubes.
Ingredients
Milk – I use whole milk (full-fat milk) to make masala doodh because it makes my drink rich and creamy. But if you want to make it low calorie, then you can use low-fat or skim milk.
If you want to make vegan masala milk, then replace the dairy milk with any plant-based milk such as almond milk, soy milk, or oat milk.
Nuts – This milk has a nice crunch from dried nuts such as almonds, pistachios, and cashew nuts.
You can adjust the Sugar according to your taste. Sugar can also be replaced with maple syrup, honey, or sugar-free options such as stevia or monk fruit.
You can also use date puree as a natural sweetener.
Saffron gives the dish a beautiful yellow-orange color and enhance its rich taste.
Milk Powder is optional but highly recommended as it makes the drink slightly thick and creamy.
Others – You will also need chirongi, fennel seeds (saunf), dried rose petals, green cardamom powder, turmeric powder, black pepper powder, kewda essence, and nutmeg powder (jaiphal powder).
Pepper and nutmeg add a slight hint of spiciness that complements the beautiful flavor of cardamom and creamy milk.
You can replace kewra essence with rose water (gulabjal) to change your taste.
If you want to make the milk in Maharashtrian style, skip adding kewra essence.
How To Make Masala Milk
Make The Masala Doodh Powder
Add the following ingredients to a grinder. Grind to make a fine powder.
- ¼ cup cashew nuts
- ¼ cup almonds
- ¼ cup pistachios
- 1 tablespoon chironji
- ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 tablespoon dried rose petals
Note – This powder can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a month.
Make The Milk
Add 8 cups of whole milk and 1 pinch of saffron strands to a nonstick pan. Keep the pan over medium-high heat and cook until milk starts to boil. Stir continuously while cooking so that the milk doesn’t scorch at the bottom of the pan.
Once the milk starts to boils, add the following ingredients to the pan and mix well.
- nut powder
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon green cardamom powder
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 2 tablespoon milk powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper powder
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg powder
Now reduce the heat to low setting and cook the milk for 5-6 minutes, stirring frequently.
Check for sugar and add more if required.
Add 2-3 drops of kewda essence and mix well. Serve hot.
Pro Tips By Neha
I sometimes dry roast the nuts for a more robust flavor.
The recipe I’ve shared will make masala powder for 8 cups of this drink. If you want to make just 1-2 cups, use approximately one tablespoon of milk masala for every cup. Adjust the remaining ingredients as well.
You can adjust the sugar as per your taste.
Serving Suggestions
You can serve masala milk hot or chilled. I garnish it with dried rose petals, slivered almonds, pistachios, and some saffron strands.
Give a spoon along with the cups as some masala settles down at the bottom, which can be scooped with the spoon once the milk is finished.
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Masala Milk Recipe (Masala Doodh)
Ingredients
- ¼ cup cashew nuts
- ¼ cup almonds
- ¼ cup pistachios
- 1 tablespoon chironji
- ½ teaspoon fennel seeds (saunf)
- 1 tablespoon dried rose petals
- 8 cups milk
- 1 pinch saffron
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon green cardamom powder
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 2 tablespoons milk powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper powder
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg powder
- 2-3 drops kewda essence
Instructions
Make The Masala Doodh Powder
- Add cashew nuts, almonds, pistachios, chironji, fennel seeds, and dried rose petals to a grinder. Grind to make a fine powder.
- Note – This powder can be stored in the refrigerator for upto a month.
Make The Milk
- Add milk and saffron strands to a pan. Bring it to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir continuously to prevent the milk from scorching at the bottom of the pan.
- Once the milk comes to a boil, add nut powder, sugar, cardamom powder, turmeric powder, milk powder, black pepper powder, and nutmeg powder to the pan and mix well.
- Reduce the heat to low and cook the milk for 5-6 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Check for sugar and add more if required.
- Add 2-3 drops of kewda essence and mix well. Serve hot.
