Bhang recipe Indian

Here are some exotic and intoxicating Bhang Recipes to help you enjoy the Holi Festival the traditional ways !! Relish these Bhang dishes with friends and dear ones and add more excitement to Holi celebrations Flavoured bhang drink.

Instruction

Bhang is an Indian drink that is prepared using marijuana leaves and flower buds. This beverage is a popular drink that is consumed during the Indian festival of colours called ‘Holi’. It is very easy to make with simple Indian ingredients and tastes quite divine. But the buzz you get from this drink is the best part. It is a smooth feeling that will keep going for a long time. You can make it for you next cocktail party with your friends and don’t be surprised if they beg you for more- and for the recipe! Let us take a look at this quick and simple recipe for making bhang.

If you’d like to try bhang yourself, here is a common bhang recipe:

Ingredients

• 2 cups water
• Up to 1/2 ounce of fresh cannabis leaves and flowers
• 3 cups warm milk
• 1/4 tsp garam masala
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground fennel
• 1/2 tsp ground anise
• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/2 tsp rosewater
• 1/2 cup honey or sugar
• Rose petals, mint leaves, chopped almonds or pistachios to garnish

Directions

• Heat water to a rapid boil, then remove from heat and add the cannabis plant material. Steep for about seven minutes.
• Strain cannabis leaves and flower from water using a muslin cloth. Squeeze the plant matter until all liquid has been removed. Collect the water and set it aside.
• Put the leaves and flowers into a mortar and pestle with 2 teaspoons of warm milk. Slowly but firmly grind the leaves and milk together, then squeeze the flowers to extract the milk. Continue this process until you have used about ½ cup of milk. Save the extracted milk.
• Add chopped almonds, pistachios, rose petals, mint leaves or any other garnishes to your mortar and pestle, along with more warm milk. Grind until a fine paste is formed. Collect the extract and discard any additional nut fibers or residue.
• Combine all the liquids together, and add garam masala, ginger, fennel, anise, cardamom, and rosewater. Add honey (or sugar) and the remaining warm milk.
• Mix well, chill, serve, and enjoy.

Tips

There are many variations on bhang drinks: To make a bhang lassi, add ½ teaspoon of grenadine and a tablespoon of coconut milk. Some recipes may also call for yogurt, curds, and/or whey for a true Indian lassi. Thandai is another popular variation on the traditional bhang beverage. Thandai uses the pre-made bhang mixture, but also adds almonds, cashews, melon seeds, dates, and black peppercorn to be ground in the mortar and pestle or hand mixer. Once the thandai paste is prepared, add to warm milk and the bhang mixture and let everything simmer for 4-5 minutes. Pour the mixture into a tall glass and let it chill. Serve the beverage with chia seeds and rose petals on top as a garnish.

1. To make Bhang Thandai even more delicious, add some fresh cream, this adds a nice creamy texture to this drink.
2. You can make the blend more creamy by soaking the almonds overnight and then grinding it into a fine smooth paste.
3. To make it extra aromatic, add some rose water and some dried & crushed rose petals along with some cardamom powder.

What is bhang and how is it made?

Bhang is a mixture made by drying, grinding, and soaking the buds and leaves of the Cannabis sativa plant to form a paste that’s added to food and drinks. Bhang has been consumed in India for centuries. Though cannabis is considered illegal in most parts of the country, the sale and consumption of bhang seem to be tolerated. This may be especially true in religious cities, where bhang-infused food and drinks can be purchased both from street vendors and government-approved shops.

However, the Indian National Policy on Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances only permits the addition of the leaves and no other parts of the cannabis plant (1Trusted Source). One common way to consume bhang is blended with curd and whey — the solid and liquid parts of milk that separate when milk is coagulated — to make a beverage called bhang lassi. Another popular option is bhang goli, a drink consisting of freshly ground cannabis mixed with water.Bhang can also be combined with sugar and ghee — a clarified butter commonly used in India — and used to make sweets.

What Is Bhang?

Bhang is known for its psychoactive effects, or its ability to affect the way your brain and nervous system work.

Cannabinoids — the main active chemical compounds in the Cannabis sativa plant — are behind these effects. There are several different types of cannabinoids in bhang, but the two best-researched are (2Trusted Source):

• Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The main psychoactive compound in cannabis, which is responsible for the “high” people experience after consuming foods and beverages containing bhang.
• Cannabidiol (CBD). A non-psychoactive cannabinoid thought to be the main compound behind the health benefits linked to bhang.

Both CBD and THC have a molecular structure similar to compounds your body naturally produces — known as endocannabinoids.

Endocannabinoids bind to your body’s cannabinoid receptors and are involved in activities like learning, memory, decision making, immunity, and motor function (2Trusted Source).

Due to their likeness in structure, THC and CBD can also bind to your body’s cannabinoid receptors — impacting the way your brain relays messages between its cells.

Smoking or vaping dried parts of the cannabis plant causes blood cannabinoid levels to peak within 15–30 minutes.

Other potential benefits

Bhang may offer some additional benefits as well. The best-researched include:

• May offer some protection against cancer. Test-tube and animal studies show that cannabinoids may destroy or limit the spread of certain cancer cells (15Trusted Source).
• May improve sleep. Bhang may reduce sleep disturbances caused by sleep apnea, chronic pain, multiple sclerosis, and fibromyalgia (4Trusted Source).
• May reduce inflammation. Test-tube and animal studies indicate that the compounds in bhang may reduce inflammation common in many diseases (4Trusted Source, 16Trusted Source).
• Can increase appetite. Increased appetite is one of the most common side effects of bhang. This may benefit those trying to gain weight or maintain it — but may be considered a disadvantage to others