Lassi is a very basic and rustic summer cooler. One has to get it right, without going overboard with it.
Ingredients:
- One portion curd
- One portion crushed ice
- One portion chilled water
- Freshly roasted cumin seeds
- Freshly pressed fresh mint leaves and fresh coriander leaves
- Kala Namak (Black Rock Salt)
- Black Pepper Powder
- Very finely chopped fresh green chillies to taste
- Sun-dried ginger powder to taste
- A few fresh mint leaves for garnishing
You need to mix them right and garnish them as shown in the accompanying photograph.
I have my own favorite masala lassi joints in three cities. In Delhi we have Bikanervala, their namkeen/ masala lassi is good, but it doesn’t include green chillies. The Lassiwala on Mirza Ismail (MI) Road, Jaipur (If you are standing at Niros, look bang opposite, the extreme left corner shop is the original one). In Amritsar it has to be Gyan Halwai/ Sweet Shop at Chowk Rivoli Cinema. Gyan’s lassi puts you to sleep soon after. All these three outlets are known more for their sweet lassi, but it is the namkeen/ masala which is the real summer cooler.
My personal preference is to have masala lassi on a Sunday afternoon after a hearty Punjabi breakfast. If you love your Sunday late morning /mid afternoon sleep, try this. Enjoy!
