Rajasthani Chaach Spiced Buttermilk Desert Cooler

Ingredients

• 2 cups full-fat yogurt (ideally slightly sour for a tangier chaach)
• 4 cups cold water
• 1 tsp roasted cumin powder
• 1/4 tsp black salt (kala namak)
• a pinch of regular salt
• 1/4 inch ginger — finely grated
• 1 green chilli — very finely minced (optional)
• 1 tbsp dried mint leaves — crumbled (or 2 tbsp fresh mint — finely chopped)
• ice cubes

Method

1. Churn the yogurt: Pour 2 cups yogurt into a deep vessel. Using a traditional wooden churner (madani) or a hand blender or electric blender, churn for 1 to 2 minutes until the yogurt is completely smooth and slightly frothy.
2. Add cold water: Add 4 cups cold water gradually while stirring. The Rajasthani chaach uses proportionally more water than the Punjabi lassi — it should be very thin and flowing.
3. Add roasted cumin: Add roasted cumin powder. Stir well.
4. Add black salt and regular salt: Add black salt and a pinch of regular salt. The black salt provides the characteristic complex, mineral note of good chaach.
5. Add ginger: Add finely grated fresh ginger. The fresh ginger adds a clean sharpness.
6. Add green chilli: If using, add the finely minced green chilli for additional heat.
7. Add dried or fresh mint: Add crumbled dried mint or finely chopped fresh mint. Stir.
8. Taste and adjust: The chaach should be: cooling and thin, slightly tangy from the yogurt, salty, earthy from the cumin and fresh from the mint and ginger. Adjust each element.
9. Add ice: Add 5 to 6 ice cubes. Stir.
10. Serve in large steel glasses: Rajasthani chaach is served in large quantities — a half-litre glass is not unusual during peak summer. Serve in the largest available glasses.
11. Note: Chaach (buttermilk) is the primary summer survival drink of Rajasthan — a state where summer temperatures regularly exceed 48°C in the desert districts of Barmer, Jaisalmer and Bikaner. In these districts, chaach stalls serve continuously from 8 am through the night and people drink chaach by the litre. The spiced version with cumin, ginger and black salt is the Rajasthani variation — the plain salted version is also widely available. Made from the buttermilk left after churning butter from yogurt.