Indian Spiced Buttermilk Drink Chaas Recipe. Masala chaas. Savory Non Dairy Yogurt Drink with Mint, cumin and ice cubes. Indian Summer Beverage. Vegan Gluten-free Recipe
We’ve all had some or the other type of lassi which is a sweet yogurt drink, where yogurt is blended with flavors (mango, rose, plain) and sugar/sweetener and some chilled water or ice. Lassis are a perfect summer drink.
Chaas/ chaach /Mattha is an equally loved Indian Beverage for summer. Chaas is a savory spiced drink which is made with thin buttermilk. Chaas is great for the summer to hydrate as well as helps digestion.
Traditionally chaas is either made with the leftover water after making butter from cream, or from sour yogurt. This version uses almond milk yogurt to make a savory summer drink. A bit of lemon and kala namak adds some sourness. Refreshing and Summery. You can make your own non dairy yogurt at home. See Recipe notes.
South Indian version of Chaas called Neer Mor and it has cilantro, curry leaves, green chile that gets blended into the yogurt mixture. The serving is then garnished with a tempering of mustard seeds.
Try this Chaach with your favorite plain non dairy yogurt and let me know how it turned out!
More Summer drinks from the blog
- Turmeric Iced Masala Chai
- Hazelnut macchiato
- Cookie Dough Blizzard
- Mango Lassi
- Turmeric Lassi
- Mango Panna
Recipe Card
Indian Spiced Buttermilk Drink Vegan Chaas Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup (245 ml) non dairy unsweetened plain yogurt
- 1 cup (250 ml) cold water
- ice as needed
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) ground cumin or roasted ground cumin
- 2 mint leaves
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) kala namak Indian sulphur salt
- 1/8 tsp (0.13 tsp) black pepper
- a dash of lemon juice
- Mint leaves or cilantro leaves for garnish
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) ground cumin for garnish
Instructions
- Blend the first 8 ingredients in a blender until frothy. It will take 2 to 3 minutes to froth well. Taste and adjust salt(kala namak or plain salt). Add a pinch of sweetener if needed.
- Pour into glasses. Press mint leaves between your fingers to release a bit of flavor and add as garnish. Sprinkle with ground cumin.
Notes
Nutrition
Radha
Hi Richa,
I have been hoping to find a vegan buttermilk to eat with rice at the end of the meal. My kids are so used to eating buttermilk rice with a little pickle. Do you think buttermilk prepared from Kite Hill will taste good this way? Buttermilk is the last item in our diet keeping us from being 100% vegan.
Richa
I really like kite hill yogurt. It’s so close to dairy. It should work great for the fermented flavor profile of buttermilk. You can let it sour a bit if you like sour buttermilk .
Abhaya Srivatsan
Do you use dairy based yoghurt as the starter yoghurt? Or is a non-dairy version available to buy?
Richa
non-dairy cultures or use your non-dairy yogurt to start
Saheli
Dear Richa, thank you for this lovely recipe! I will make this chaas with cashew yogurt which is pretty close to the dairy version with a faint pleasant cashew flavor. Have you ever tried making sesame yogurt with sesame seed milk? I suppose that might closer approach the protein and calcium content of dairy. Would love to see recipe if you have.
Richa
thanks! i havent tried sesame seed yogurt as sesame seeds add a strong bitter flavor. I have seen people make sesame cashew yogurt which probably is a better flavor profile.
Cassie Autumn Tran
Wow, this looks yummy! The only Indian drink I’ve ever tried was a fresh spice tea, which tasted heavenly! I’ll have to try this one day, once I get my hands on a good yogurt substitute!
SherryM
It was 100 degrees today where I live in No California. I just made this–delicious and refreshing! I used plain unsweetened almond yogurt. Thanks for the recipe! Would it be acceptable to drink this with a spicy meal?
Richa
yes. its usually served up right after a hot and spicy meal to cool things down.
Kathie Arias
I LOVE lassis. I love how versatile they are in the sense that they’re good whether or not they’re sweet. I’ve never tried this but I’m looking forward to trying it! Do you have a favorite non-dairy yogurt? Thank you for the recipe!
Richa
I usually use kite hill brand almond yogurt for most recipes. If the yogurt is used in smaller quantities or in baked goods, then any of the coconut milk yogurt brands also work well.
Jenn
Such an interesting blend of flavors. I’ve gotten in the habit of having a smoothie or juice in the afternoons as a pick-me-up.I don’t usually have fresh mint, but I happen to have some leftover from a salad I just made. I’ll have to try this out!
Richa
I never got into smoothies and juices. Summer is generally some freshly made lemonade or lassi or chaas. Both are like smoothies in the sense that the nut milk yogurts are pretty filling.