Chaas
Encyclopedia
Chhaas in India, Kachi Lassi in Pakistan
, is a buttermilk preparation from Pakistan
and India
. It is consumed all year round where it is usually taken along with meals. It is also consumed on its own as a beverage. It contains raw milk, cream (malai
) or yoghurt which is blended manually in a pot with an instrument called madhani (whipper). If using milk or cream, the butter which comes on top is filtered with a piece of cloth, and the remaining milk-based liquid which is left is known as chhaas or buttermilk. Generally salt and crushed cumin seeds are added into it to enhance its taste. In modern Pakistan and India, Kachi Lassi is made by placing plain youghurt in an electronic blender. Sometimes, finely diced green chillies are added to accentuate the flavour of the chaas. Chaas is most often drunk with ice, in the hot summer months. Lassi and Kachi Lassi (Chhaas) generally taste similar, the difference between these two is that chhaas is the liquid left after extracting butter and lassi is water blended with yoghurt.
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, is a buttermilk preparation from Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. It is consumed all year round where it is usually taken along with meals. It is also consumed on its own as a beverage. It contains raw milk, cream (malai
Malai
Malai is a South Asian term for clotted cream or Devonshire cream. It is made by heating non-homogenized whole milk to about 80°C for about one hour and then allowing to cool. A thick yellowish layer of fat and coagulated proteins forms on the surface, which is skimmed off. The process is usually...
) or yoghurt which is blended manually in a pot with an instrument called madhani (whipper). If using milk or cream, the butter which comes on top is filtered with a piece of cloth, and the remaining milk-based liquid which is left is known as chhaas or buttermilk. Generally salt and crushed cumin seeds are added into it to enhance its taste. In modern Pakistan and India, Kachi Lassi is made by placing plain youghurt in an electronic blender. Sometimes, finely diced green chillies are added to accentuate the flavour of the chaas. Chaas is most often drunk with ice, in the hot summer months. Lassi and Kachi Lassi (Chhaas) generally taste similar, the difference between these two is that chhaas is the liquid left after extracting butter and lassi is water blended with yoghurt.