Lassi Love: From Plain Yogurt to Paradise in a Blender!

Ingredients
For Sweet Lassi
• ▢2 cups Curd – cold and fresh (yogurt)
• ▢1 cup water or milk – cold or at room temperature
• ▢4 to 5 tablespoons sugar or add as per taste
• ▢1 teaspoon cardamom powder or 8 to 10 green cardamoms or 1 tablespoon rose water
• ▢10 to 12 saffron strands – optional
• ▢6 to 8 ice cubes – optional
• ▢1 to 2 tablespoons chopped nuts – cashews, almonds, pistachios, optional
For Salted Lassi
• ▢2.5 cups Curd – cold and fresh (yogurt)
• ▢1 cup water – cold or at room temperature
• ▢1 teaspoon black salt or regular salt or edible rock salt, as required
• ▢1.5 teaspoons roasted cumin powder
• ▢6 to 7 mint leaves
For Masala Lassi
• ▢2 cups Curd – cold and fresh (yogurt)
• ▢3 to 4 green cardamoms – seeds crushed in mortar and husks removed
• ▢¼ teaspoon crushed black pepper
• ▢1 to 2 pinches grated nutmeg or ground nutmeg
• ▢2 tablespoons chopped almonds or cashews or pistachios
• ▢10 to 12 saffron strands – optional
• ▢5 to 6 tablespoons chopped palm sugar (palm jaggery) or jaggery or sugar
• ▢⅓ to ½ cup water – cold or at room temperature, add as required
Instructions

Making Sweet Lassi
• In a mortar, take the green cardamom pods and crush them lightly. Remove the husks and crush the seeds to a fine powder.
• In a bowl or pan, take fresh chilled curd (yogurt).
• With the handheld wooden churner (madani)or blender or wired whisk, simply whisk the curd until it becomes smooth.
• Add sugar and cold water. You can also add cold milk instead of water.
• The consistency of this lassi is neither thick nor thin. For a thin lassi, add slightly more water and for a thicker version, add less water .
• Now churn or beat again with the churner, blender or wired whisk.
• Keep on churning or whisking until the sugar dissolves and you see a nice frothy layer on top. You can use an immersion blender for the same. Another way is to add all the ingredients in a blender jar and blend until smooth and frothy.
• Now add the crushed cardamom powder and saffron strands. Mix well. Do check the taste and add more sugar if required.
• As a substitute for cardamom powder, add rose water. You can skip all the flavoring ingredients, if you don't have any.
• Pour lassi in tall glasses and serve. Add a few ice cubes if you prefer. If you want, you can top lassi in each glass with 1 to 2 tablespoons of malai (the thick layer of cream which collects on top of heated milk) or 1 to 2 tablespoons of unsalted white butter (makhan).
• Garnish with a pinch or two of cardamom powder, 2 to 3 crushed saffron strands or chopped nuts like cashews, pistachios or almonds. Serve sweet punjabi lassi straightaway.
Making Salted Lassi
• Take the curd and water in a bowl or pan. Season with salt and roasted cumin powder.
• To make your own roasted ground cumin, dry roast cumin seeds in a small skillet or frying pan until fragrant. Then crush in a mortar-pestle or grind finely in a spice-grinder.
• With a wired whisk blend everything well till smooth. A blender or an immersion blender also works.
• Pour the salted lassi in glasses. Garnish with mint leaves. You can add a few ice cubes if you like. If you wish to avoid the ice cubes, then make lassi with chilled yogurt and cold water.
Making Masala Lassi
• In a blender take the curd, crushed seeds of the green cardamons, crushed black pepper, grated nutmeg, chopped almonds or cashews or pistachios or a mix of all three nuts.
• Add the saffron strands and chopped palm jaggery (palm sugar) or jaggery or sugar. Add water.
• Blend until smooth and frothy. Check the taste and add more palm sugar if needed and blend again. Serve straightaway topped with a few saffron strands or chopped nuts.
Serving Suggestions
• Serve lassi as a refreshing drink during the daytime or serve it as drink it after any Indian meal.
• While serving sweet lassi, garnish with some chopped nuts like pistachios or almonds.
• Salted lassi can be topped with fresh mint or coriander leaves and a light sprinkling of roasted cumin powder, red chilli powder (cayenne pepper) or chaat masala.