Ingredients
Sweet lassi
- 400 gthick full-fat yoghurt, dahi
- 100 mlcold water or milk
- 3 tbspsugar
- a pinch of ground cardamom
- ice
To finish, Amritsari style
- 2 tbspmalai, clotted cream from the top of the milk
- chopped pistachios and almonds
- a few strands of saffron
Salted lassi, namkeen
- 400 gyoghurt
- 300 mlcold water
- 1 tspsalt
- ½ tsproasted ground cumin
- a few mint leaves
- a pinch of black salt
Mango lassi
- add 200 g ripe mango pulp, preferably Alphonso
To serve
- in a tall clay tumbler, very cold
Directions
- Use thick, full-fat, freshly set yoghurt, and use a good one. Thin or sharp yoghurt gives a thin sour drink, and there is nothing else in a lassi to hide behind.
- Blend the yoghurt with the sugar first, before adding much liquid. Blending it thick first whips air into it properly, where adding all the water at once gives a thin liquid that barely froths.
- Blend it for a good thirty to forty seconds until visibly light and foamy. Then add cold water or milk gradually until it is the consistency you want.
- Scatter chopped pistachios and almonds over, and add saffron if you want it. Use cardamom sparingly, since too much turns soapy and dominates everything. Blend the yoghurt with cold water, salt, roasted cumin and mint.
- Roast the cumin seeds in a dry pan and grind them fresh, which is far better than using ready-ground cumin. Salted lassi is meant to be thin and refreshing rather than rich.
- Serve it very cold, and add ice only if the lassi is already thick enough to survive dilution.
- Reduce the sugar accordingly, since ripe mango brings its own sweetness. Drink it immediately, since lassi separates and goes flat within twenty minutes of being made.
Technique
- Sweet and salted lassi are quite different drinks.
- Blend the yoghurt thick first, then thin it, for a proper froth.
- The clay kulhad keeps it cold and adds its own aroma.
Substitutions
- Greek yoghurt thinned with water, for the sweet version.
- Double cream in place of malai.
Variations
- Namkeen lassi, salted with roasted cumin.
- Mango lassi, with ripe mango pulp.
- Rose lassi, with rose syrup.
History
A yoghurt-based drink, either sweet or salty, sometimes flavoured with fruit such as mango, documented in Indian cooking and Ayurvedic tradition for many centuries, valued historically both for its refreshing, cooling quality in India’s often intense heat and for various believed digestive benefits associated with yoghurt within traditional Indian medicine. Punjab in particular developed a strong regional association with thick, rich lassi, often served in large clay cups called kulhads, whose porous surface is traditionally believed to add a subtle earthy flavour and help keep the drink cool. Regional variations across India and Pakistan differ considerably in thickness, sweetness and whether the lassi is savory and salted rather than sweet, without one style being treated as more authentic than the others.
Frequently asked questions
What is Lassi?
Lassi is a drink from India: thick churned-yoghurt drink; Amritsar serves it sweet in clay tumblers. A yoghurt-based drink, either sweet or salty, sometimes flavoured with fruit such as mango, documented in Indian cooking and Ayurvedic tradition for many centuries, valued historically both for its refreshing, cooling quality in India’s often intense heat and for various believed digestive benefits associated with yoghurt within traditional Indian medicine. Punjab in particular developed a strong regional association with thick, rich lassi, often served in large clay cups called kulhads, whose porous surface is traditionally believed to add a subtle earthy flavour and help keep the drink cool. Regional variations across India and Pakistan differ considerably in thickness, sweetness and whether the lassi is savory and salted rather than sweet, without one style being treated as more authentic than the others.
How long does Lassi take to make?
Lassi takes 10 min of preparation and none of cooking. The recipe makes 2 tall glasses. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Lassi?
Yes, within limits. Greek yoghurt thinned with water, for the sweet version. Double cream in place of malai.
What is the most important thing to get right in Lassi?
Roast the cumin seeds in a dry pan and grind them fresh, which is far better than using ready-ground cumin. Salted lassi is meant to be thin and refreshing rather than rich.
