Ingredients
Drink
- 250 mlcold full-fat milk
- 250 mllemon-lime soda, well chilled
- plenty of ice
Optional
- a pinch of salt
- a few drops of kewra or rose water
Directions
- Chill both the milk and the soda hard before you begin. Everything about this drink depends on cold, and warm milk against soda tastes flat and cloying.
- Fill a tall glass to the brim with ice, which keeps the drink cold without diluting it too quickly.
- Pour the milk in first and let it settle around the ice.
- Add the soda slowly, down the inside of the glass, and stop as soon as the foam reaches the rim.
- Milk first and soda second, poured gently. The other way round it foams up violently and straight over the top of the glass.
- Stir once very gently, or not at all if the pour has already mixed it.
- Add a pinch of salt or a few drops of kewra water if you like, both of which are common additions.
- Drink it immediately, while the fizz is still in it and the milk is still cold.
- It is a Lahore habit, drunk after rich Punjabi food and at Ramadan iftar, and sold at dhabas and roadside kiosks all summer.
Technique
- It sounds unlikely and it works. The acid in the soda is what keeps it refreshing rather than heavy.
- Full-fat milk. Skimmed milk makes it thin and slightly sour-tasting.
- It does not keep for even five minutes, so make it in the glass it will be drunk from.
Substitutions
- Soda water with a squeeze of lemon and a spoonful of sugar.
- Any clear lemon-lime soda; the brand matters far less than the temperature.
Variations
- With a spoonful of rooh afza, which turns it pink.
- With crushed cardamom.
- Made salty rather than sweet, which some people prefer after very rich food.
History
A Lahore habit drunk after rich Punjabi food and at Ramadan iftar, sold at dhabas and roadside kiosks.
Frequently asked questions
What is Doodh Soda?
Doodh Soda is a drink from Pakistan: chilled milk cut with lemon-lime soda and poured over ice after heavy meals. A Lahore habit drunk after rich Punjabi food and at Ramadan iftar, sold at dhabas and roadside kiosks.
How long does Doodh Soda take to make?
Doodh Soda takes 3 min of preparation and no cooking at all. The recipe makes 1 glass. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Doodh Soda?
Yes, within limits. Soda water with a squeeze of lemon and a spoonful of sugar. Any clear lemon-lime soda; the brand matters far less than the temperature.
What is the most important thing to get right in Doodh Soda?
It sounds unlikely and it works. The acid in the soda is what keeps it refreshing rather than heavy.
