Summertime is almost here and we are all craving a refreshing and light drink. Most of the time we opt for a fruit-based drink, but we also crave something creamy like a milkshake. This kind of craving can be easily satisfied with a delicious lassi in all the different flavors it has to offer. If you're not familiar with lassi, it's a traditional Indian and Pakistani (more specifically, Punjabi) yogurt drink made by mixing yogurt with water or milk. The refreshing fruit drink is very popular in summer, but like ice cream - good all year round. You can make lassi yourself easily, quickly and, above all, in a healthy way.
Different variants and tastes
There are hundreds of variations (restaurants vary greatly), and it can be sweet, saltyor be fruity. Although the mango version is very popular, plain lassi (whether salted or sweet) is the drink that started it all. Here we show you the most famous recipes.
Make your own Punjabi lassi
Ingredients:
150 g quark (thick)
2 tablespoons sugar
¼ teaspoon cardamom powder
How to Make Punjabi Lassi:
- First put 150 g of quark in a blender. Make sure the curd is thick and cooled.
- Add 2 tablespoons sugar and ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder.
- Blend to make sure everything is well mixed.
- Finally, pour Punjabi lassi in a glass and sprinkle with malai or cardamom powder.
Prepare dried fruit drink
Ingredients:
150 g quark (thick)
2 tablespoons pistachios
2 tablespoons almonds
1 anjeer (chopped)
2 tablespoons sugar
¼ teaspoon saffron food coloring
How to make the dried fruit drink:
- First put 150 g of quark in a blender. Make sure the curd is thick and cooled.
- Add 2 tablespoons pistachios, 2 tablespoons almonds, 1 anjeer, 2 tablespoons sugar and ¼ teaspoon saffron food coloring.
- Mix until everything is well mixed.
- Pour the dried fruit lassi into a glass and garnish with chopped pistachios.
Make rose lassi yourself
Ingredients:
150 g quark (thick)
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons Rooh Afza
How to Make Rose Lassi:
- Put 150 g of quark in a blender. Make sure the curd is thick and cooled.
- Add 2 tablespoons sugar and 2 tablespoons Rooh Afza. Adjust the sugar as per your preference as Rooh Afza also contains sugar.
- Puree until all ingredients are evenly mixed.
- Finally, top up the drink with rose syrup.
Try the chocolate version
Ingredients:
150 g quark (thick)
3 tablespoons chocolate sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
How to make the chocolate drink:
- First put 150 g of quark in a blender. The curd must be thick and cooled.
- Add 3 tablespoons of chocolate sauce and 2 tablespoons of sugar.
- Mix everything together until you get a homogeneous mixture.
- Finally, pour the drink into a tall glass and top with chocolate syrup. Sprinkle with chocolate sprinkles if desired.
Make your own mango lassi
- Wash, peel and cut 3 to 4 medium-sized mangoes into pieces.
- Enter the mangoesinto a blender.
- Add 4 to 5 tablespoons of sugar or honey or another sweetener of your choice. If you prefer or the mangoes are very sweet, you can skip adding a sweetener. You can add more sugar later if the fruit drink tastes more sour.
- Add the flavorings of your choice – ½ teaspoon cardamom powder or 8 to 10 saffron strands or 1 tablespoon rose water.
- Puree everything until smooth. The consistency should be mushy and mushy, without any fine pieces of mango.
- Add 300 g chilledQuark or yogurtand add 2 to 3 tablespoons light cream. Adding cream is optional.
- Add 4 to 5 ice cubes (optional).
- If you want a slightly thinner consistency, add a little water or milk to the summer drink while blending.
- Puree until all ingredients are evenly mixed and the yogurt is smooth.
- Try a few spoonfuls. If it tastes slightly sour, tart, or isn't sweet enough for your taste, add a few teaspoons of sugar and blend again.
- Pour mango lassi into glasses.
- Serve immediately.
Prepare papaya drink
Ingredients:
300 g ripe papaya, peeled and seeded
4 tablespoons of honey
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
200 ml buttermilk
250 ml natural yogurt
8 ice cubes
a handful of toasted pistachios, for serving
- Place all ingredients except the pistachios in a blender and process into a smooth, salmon-colored puree.
- Crush the pistachios until you get a nutty paste.
- Pour the papaya lassi into tall glasses and sprinkle the roasted pistachios over it.
- Serve immediately.
Prepare salted drink
Ingredients:
250 g Yoghurt
80g water
1 tablespoon cumin powder (roasted cumin powder is better)
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- Place the yogurt in a bowl.
- Add salt and cumin powder.
- Stir with a spoon.
- Add the water to the bowl.
- Mix the ingredients with a hand blender on low speed.
- Mix until foamy.
- Transfer to a pitcher and refrigerate for up to 1 hour.
