Hand-Churned Salted Lassi (Chaas) with Black Salt & Mint

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

The savory cousin of sweet lassi: thin, tangy, deeply refreshing buttermilk churned by hand until a cap of froth rises to the top. The flavor comes from three cheap moves done properly — cumin seeds toasted in a dry pan and crushed while warm, sulfurous kala namak for that unmistakable Indian street-side tang, and a whisper of ginger, green chile and mint pounded in so they perfume the drink without leaving grit. Serve it in tall glasses over ice with lunch, or after anything rich and spicy.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/4 tsp black peppercorns
• 3/4 tsp kala namak (Indian black salt), or more to taste
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt

• 1 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 1/2 green chile (Indian finger chile or serrano), seeded
• 12 fresh mint leaves
• 2 tbsp cilantro leaves and tender stems, chopped
• 1 pinch asafoetida (hing), optional

• 2 cups plain whole-milk yogurt, well chilled and not too sour
• 2 1/2 cups ice-cold water
• 1 tsp fresh lime juice, plus wedges to serve
• Ice cubes, for serving
• Mint sprigs and a pinch of cumin, to garnish

Instructions

1. Toast the spices: put the cumin seeds and peppercorns in a small dry skillet over medium heat. Toast 2 to 3 minutes, shaking the pan constantly, until the cumin darkens a shade and smells nutty and almost smoky — pull it the moment you smell it, as burnt cumin turns the whole drink bitter. Tip onto a plate to stop the cooking.
2. Crush the still-warm spices coarsely in a mortar or under the flat bottom of a heavy glass. Stir in the kala namak and sea salt. Set aside 1/4 teaspoon of this spice salt for garnish.
3. Make the aromatic paste: in the same mortar (no need to wash it), pound the grated ginger, green chile, mint leaves, cilantro and asafoetida with a pinch of the spice salt for about 30 seconds, until you have a rough, fragrant green pulp. This bruising is what releases the flavor — chopping alone won't do it.
4. Whisk the base: put the yogurt in a large deep bowl or a 2-quart pitcher. Whisk hard for about 1 minute, until completely smooth and lump-free, before adding any liquid. Yogurt whisked thin from the start will always stay slightly grainy.
5. Add the ice-cold water in three additions, whisking well after each, then whisk in the aromatic paste, the remaining spice salt and the lime juice.
6. Churn for froth: hold the whisk (or a traditional mathani) upright in the mixture and spin it briskly back and forth for 45 to 60 seconds, keeping the head just at the surface so it drags in air. A pale, foamy cap should rise about an inch above the liquid. Alternatively, pulse everything in a blender for 15 to 20 seconds only — any longer and the fat can start to churn into butter flecks.
7. Taste and adjust: chaas should be assertively salty and tangy, a little sharper than seems polite, because ice will dilute it. Add kala namak 1/8 teaspoon at a time; add a splash more cold water if it feels thicker than whole milk.
8. Strain and serve: for a silky, restaurant-clean texture, pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a pitcher, pressing the solids to extract their flavor, then whisk once more to raise the froth. Fill four tall glasses with ice, pour in the chaas, spoon the foam over the tops, and finish each with the reserved cumin salt, a mint sprig and a lime wedge. Drink within 20 minutes, while it is still frothy and very cold.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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