Gustatelo!

Lassis are these fantastic whipped yogurt drinks I have come to love here in India. To be honest my first lassi was probably at an Indian food restaurant back in the states, but it is here that I have realized how wonderful these drinks can be. They are often listed on the menu with three options: sweet, salty, or masala.  Sweet and salty speak for themselves, but masala contains a spice mix, which is actually the meaning of the word masala. The spices appear to change depending on the person making it.


Lassis are common at street stands, in restaurants and at home.  All you need is some yogurt, cold water, a whisk and whatever flavorings you wish to add. You can make your own lassi by blending yogurt, water, salt, pepper, and Indian spices. Masala lassis often contain at the very least ground roasted cumin where as sweet lassis will have sugar or honey to sweeten. I have had masala lassis with cumin, I have has masala lassis with fresh mint and pepper, one with mango, one with passion fruit. You can really take creative license on this one. One that I particularly enjoyed was the indulgent saffron lassi, a specialty of Rajasthan. It was a very rich and creamy drink, more than just your usual drink to accompany a meal. I have also been told about Makkhaniya lassi, a lassi with lumps of butter blended in, probably a thicker and richer texture than your standard lassi. Guidebooks also warn about Bhang (pronounced bang) lassis, which are lassis containing a liquid derivative of cannabis called bhang (with pretty much the same effects). Bhang is legal in India, but mostly for religious purposes. Even Anthony Bourdain traveled to Rajasthan on his show “No Reservations” and tasted some of this concoction. Unfortunately, I did not run into any Bhang shops along my travels. Better luck next time (at this point, I am pretty sure there will be a next time). Chaas or chaach is another drink very similar to salted lassis. Chaas tends to contain yogurt with the butterfat the removed and a greater portion of water making a thinner consistency (and probably a little less tasty).
I believe the reason that these drinks didn’t strike me as so phenomenal until I came to their native country is because of the quality of the yogurt they use here. Often yogurt is made and not bought.  Just leave some milk out for a day and you have yogurt. This is not the same yogurt we are used to buying in the grocery store. This is a very thin and practically liquid yogurt that is closer to kefir than what we think of as yogurt.  I make my own kefir yogurt at home with some little bacteria that were gifted to me. You simply take the milk, add the little bacteria, leave the milk out for 24-36 hours, strain out the bacteria, and voila! Kefir! (By the way you’re also only a few steps away from cheese at this point. Homemade ricotta is pretty amazing!) I’m excited to go home and tinker around with it myself. Gustatelo!