Sweet Indian Lassi

Sweet Indian Lassi

Ingredients:

½ cup superfine sugar (or granulated sugar), to taste
¼ cup water
2 cups plain yogurt
6 cardamom pods
1/3 cup milk, chilled
2/3 cup buttermilk, chilled
2 cups crushed ice
1/8 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon rose water (optional), to taste

Preparation

Making simple syrup: In a small saucepan, dissolve the sugar in water. Bring to a near boil, lower the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes. Let the syrup cool completely.

Extracting the cardamom seeds: Using a mortar and pestle. Pound the pods several times and the pod will release its seeds. Pick out the shells and discard them. Grind the cardamom seeds into a fine powder. Crush all the nits and gather about 1 teaspoon.

Assembly time: Combine the yogurt, buttermilk, milk, simple syrup, crushed cardamom, salt and crushed ice in a blender. Blend all the ingredients for about 2 minutes. While the mixture is blending, add the rose extract (if used). The consistency of the lassi should be smooth and frothy.

Pour into 4 glasses. Stir well; some cardamom powder might sink to the bottom of the glass.

Serve chilled. Yields: 6 servings

Tips

Some people like to blend the lassi with water instead of milk and flavor it with nutmeg and a hint of cayenne pepper, but I prefer not to.

You can decorate the top of the glasses with crushed nuts (slivered almonds, pistachios or cashews), just as it's done for other Indian drinks, such as sharbat.

I prefer to use superfine sugar. It's a fine-grained sugar and it dissolves much more quickly than regular sugar. You can add up to ½ cup of sugar to plain lassi, but it's not meant to be too sweet.

I used Greek-style yogurt because it's firmer and more dense than regular yogurt. I made my own yogurt last summer. It's easier than you imagine; making homemade yogurt doesn't even require a yogurt maker. You can click on the link for the recipe.

You can find rose extract at Indian stores. It's sold in small 0.7-ounce bottles.