Masala chaas aka chaas recipe is a yogurt based Indian summer drink. This healthy, low calorie, light and refreshing drink is a perfect way to quench the heat. It is considered as a perfect summer drink recipe for all ages, starting from kids to aged. Chaas is basically the amalgamation of creamy yogurt, water, salt and few specific spices and herbs. It is mostly served chilled after spicy or heavy meal or simply as a beverage during daytime. Learn to prepare three different chaas recipes (Masala chaas Plain chaas, Pudina chaas) very easily in few minutes.
Table of Contents
About the recipe
Health Benefits of Chaas
Tips and Suggestions
How to make Chaas (step wise photos)
Recipe Card
What is chaas?
Chaas is a yogurt-based refreshing, light and healthy beverage in India which is often served during summer to cool off. It is a low-calorie drink which helps in digestion and is also served with or after having spicy and rich meal. It is also known as Indian buttermilk.
Traditionally, the buttermilk is the leftover of the cultured full cream milk after churning butter from it. So, it is named as buttermilk, the milk from which butter has been extracted.
But in India buttermilk is prepared with curd or yogurt. The Indian buttermilk aka chaas is the mixture of yogurt and water. Some specific spices and herbs are added for better digestion and taste.
Chaas is one of the often-prepared summer beverages in Indian households. It is prepared in almost every part of India and known by different names. It is also popular as chaach, mattha, ghol, moru, majjige, neer more, sambaram etc.
Other than India, chaas is also popular in few other countries like Nepal where it is known as “Mohi”. In Bangladesh it is popular as “Borhani” and in few subcontinents of Europe and Asia it is known as “Ayran”.
Difference between chaas and lassi
Many people think chaas and lassi both are same but that’s not true. Both are like each other but not the same. The basic ingredients of both the beverages are same but the proportion of ingredients are different. The consistency of chaas is much runnier than lassi.
Different ways of making chaas
Chaas recipe is mainly prepared in two different methods.
The traditional way of preparing chaas recipe is by churning the mixture with madhani. Madhani is an old fashioned wooden or metal whisker with blunt blades. It is used using both hands to mix yogurt and water evenly and to develop froth in it. Till now, in many houses and villages, they follow this traditional technique to prepare chaas.
Now a day’s blender has become part and parcel of every kitchen because it reduces effort and makes our job easier. You can add all the ingredients into a blender jar and blend it for few seconds. Your frothy chaas will be ready. You can even use hand blender or electric mixer for preparing chaas recipe.
Variation in chaas
Chaas recipe is prepared in multiple ways all over the country using different ingredients and different composition of ingredients. Plain chaas, masala chaas, pudina chaas, smokey chaas, south Indian style chaas are few popular variations of chaas recipes.
Plain chaas: It is the amalgamation of yogurt, water and salt. No spices and herbs are added in it.
Masala chaas: The most popular variation of chaas recipe in northern India where different spices and herbs are added with some ginger and green chilli.
Pudina chaas: Plenty of mint leaves is added along with some specific spices for extra cooling and refreshing property.
Smokey chaas: In this variety, dhungar process is done to develop smokey flavour into the chaas recipe along with some spices.
South Indian style chaas: Neer mor is a popular variation of chaas recipe in south India where spices and herbs are blended into the chaas and then a tempering of mustard seeds, cumin seeds, asafoetida, curry leaves are added into it.
Ghol: It is the popular chaas variation in west India, especially in Bengal where instead of spices and herbs, gondhoraj lebu aka a specific fragrant variety of lemon is added for flavouring. Many people prefer to add sugar instead of salt in this recipe.
When we come back home after fighting with the scorching sun, nothing can be better and healthier than a chilled glass of chaas recipe to quench our thirst. Other than this, masala chaas or chaas recipe is also served with or after having spicy food like biryani, tikkas and kababs to balance the meal and for easy digestion.
According to me, chaas recipe is one of the easiest summer beverages that I have ever prepared. This ridiculously easy to make summer drink hardly takes 5 minutes to come to your glass. Only few basic ingredients which are easily available in any Indian kitchen pantry are enough to prepare this incredible drink.
Yogurt has been playing a vital role since ages, both in Indian culinary and Indian food. It is used to prepare different ranges of curries other than drinks and raita. In fact, it is also added to prepare cakes and cookies instead of eggs. Till now, in many houses, meals are incomplete without yogurt. It is served in different forms in meal like curd-rice, different varieties of raita or simply plain yogurt with a pinch of salt etc.
But during summer days, yogurt is thoroughly used in Indian households to prepare different varieties of drinks like smoothies, lassi and chaas recipes to give a cooling refreshment. In fact, different varieties of chaas and lassi are sold by the street vendors other than juice centres, restaurants, and hotels during summer days in India.
Since childhood, I have seen my mother to prepare different varieties of chaas recipes during summer days. She used to give us a chilled glass of chaas after coming from outside. It was so refreshing and soothing. Sometimes she used to prepare chaas in other seasons too and serve with spicy food for easy digestion.
In fact, chaas recipe especially masala chaas is my husband’s one of the most favourite summer beverages. Now my daughter has also joined into the same group with her daddy. So, in our house, recipe for chaas is prepared at least once in a week during these hot days.
Today, I am going to share three different varieties of popular chaas recipes the plain chaas, masala chaas and pudina chaas with you including all the tips and tricks. I hope these drink recipes will make your summer days more refreshing and help to cool off.
Masala chaas with step by step photos and instructions have been provided in the ‘Instructions’ section of the recipe. I have included all the tips and tricks below to make the recipe easier for you. But before directly jumping into the recipe, let me share few interesting facts about the recipe.
Health benefits of chaas
- Buttermilk aka chaas is a great source of minerals and vitamins, especially potassium and vitamin B.
- It is rich in protein and a great source of calcium.
- It is good for recovering from constipation problem and works as a home remedy.
- It is a good source of electrolytes and helps to get hydrated.
- Chaas aka buttermilk works great for acidity or acid reflux problem.
- It gives a cooling effect to body and stomach after drinking.
- It is low in fat and perfect for weight loss.
Tips to prepare perfect chaas recipe
- Always use chilled yogurt and cold water for the recipe.
- If you don’t like heaty taste or preparing the drink for kids, then skip green chillies from the recipe.
- For more cooling effect, you can add ice cubes.
- There is no hard and fast rule to prepare chaas recipe. You can adjust each ingredient accordingly.
How to make chaas?
To prepare masala chaas, first take a jar of a grinder. Then add yogurt, cold water, pudina aka mint leaves, coriander leaves, ginger, salt, black salt, chaat masala and roasted cumin powder, one by one into the jar. To give a spicy kick to the masala chaas, I have added a green chilli to. But it is completely optional. If you are preparing the masala chaas for kids, then you can skip it completely. Then close the lid of the jar and pulse it till all the components get blended completely.
Pudina chaas is another popular variation in chaas recipe. This recipe is almost similar to masala chaas but the mint leaves added to it is more and coriander leaves is skipped from the recipe.
To prepare the plain chaas, take a mixing jar and add yogurt, cold water and salt and pulse it for a minute until all the components get well combined and frothy texture is developed.
After preparing the chaas, serve it into the glasses. You can add some ice cubes too for extra cooling.
Many summer drinks recipes have already been shared in my previous posts. You can check few of them like
Mango milkshake
Avocado Milkshake
Mango lassi
Banana smoothie
..And Many more…
Ingredients:
1 cup = 250 ml
For masala chaas
- 1 cup Yogurt, chilled
- 2 cups Water, chilled
- 1 small green Chilli or ¼ teaspoon Black pepper (Optional)
- 1 teaspoon chopped Ginger
- 8 Mint leaves (Pudina)
- 1 tablespoon chopped Coriander leaves
- ¾ teaspoon roasted Cumin powder
- ½ teaspoon Chaat masala
- ½ teaspoon black Salt (Kala namak)
- ¼ teaspoon Salt (Adjust accordingly)
For pudina chaas
- 1 cup Yogurt, chilled
- 2 cups Water, chilled
- 1 teaspoon chopped Ginger
- ¼ cup Mint leaves (Pudina)
- ½ teaspoon roasted Cumin powder
- ½ teaspoon Chaat masala
- ½ teaspoon Black salt (Kala namak)
- ¼ teaspoon Salt (adjust accordingly)
For plain chaas
- 1 cup Yogurt, chilled
- 2 cups Water, chilled
- ½ teaspoon Salt (adjust accordingly)
Instructions:
For masala chaas
- Take a jar of a blender and add 1 cup chilled yogurt, 2 cups cold water, 1 teaspoon chopped ginger, 1 small green chilli, 8 mint leaves, 1 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black salt, ½ teaspoon chaat masala and ¾ teaspoon roasted cumin powder, one by one into the jar.
- Close the lid of the jar and run the blender for 1-2 minute until all the components get well combined and frothy texture develops into it.
- Pour the masala chaas directly into the glasses. Garnish with mint leaves and serve immediately.
For pudina chaas
- Wash the mint leaves thoroughly and keep it aside.
- Take a jar of a blender and add 1 cup chilled yogurt, 2 cups cold water, 1 teaspoon chopped ginger, ¼ cup mint leaves, ½ teaspoon roasted cumin powder, ½ teaspoon chaat masala, ½ teaspoon black salt and ¼ teaspoon salt, one by one into the jar.
- Close the lid of the jar and run the blender for 1-2 minute until all the components get well combined and frothy texture develops into it.
- Pour the pudina chaas directly into the glasses and serve immediately.
For plain chaas
- Take a jar of a blender and add 1 cup chilled yogurt, 2 cups cold water and ½ teaspoon salt, one by one into the jar.
- Close the lid of the jar and run the blender for 1 minute until all the components get well combined and frothy texture develops into it.
- Pour the plain chaas directly into the glasses and serve immediately.
Serving Instruction
Pour the masala chaas straight into the glasses. Garnish it with some mint leaves. Serve chilled and enjoy every sip of the delicious and refreshing summer drink with either spicy food or simply to cool off.
How to store chaas?
After preparing the chaas recipe, you can refrigerate it for 48 hours but not more than that. To get the frothy texture, you can blend the chaas in blender once more for few seconds before serving.
Ingredients
1 cup = 250 ml
For masala chaas
- 1 cup Yogurt, chilled
- 2 cups Water, chilled
- 1 small green Chilli or ¼ teaspoon Black pepper (Optional)
- 1 teaspoon chopped Ginger
- 8 Mint leaves (Pudina)
- 1 tablespoon chopped Coriander leaves
- ¾ teaspoon roasted Cumin powder
- ½ teaspoon Chaat masala
- ½ teaspoon black Salt (Kala namak)
- ¼ teaspoon Salt (Adjust accordingly)
For pudina chaas
- 1 cup Yogurt, chilled
- 2 cups Water, chilled
- 1 teaspoon chopped Ginger
- ¼ cup Mint leaves (Pudina)
- ½ teaspoon roasted Cumin powder
- ½ teaspoon Chaat masala
- ½ teaspoon Black salt (Kala namak)
- ¼ teaspoon Salt (adjust accordingly)
For plain chaas
- 1 cup Yogurt, chilled
- 2 cups Water, chilled
- ½ teaspoon Salt (adjust accordingly)
Instructions
For masala chaas
- Take a jar of a blender and add 1 cup chilled yogurt, 2 cups cold water, 1 teaspoon chopped ginger, 1 small green chilli, 8 mint leaves, 1 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black salt, ½ teaspoon chaat masala and ¾ teaspoon roasted cumin powder, one by one into the jar.
- Close the lid of the jar and run the blender for 1-2 minute until all the components get well combined and frothy texture develops into it.
- Pour the masala chaas directly into the glasses. Garnish with mint leaves and serve immediately.
For pudina chaas
- Wash the mint leaves thoroughly and keep it aside.
- Take a jar of a blender and add 1 cup chilled yogurt, 2 cups cold water, 1 teaspoon chopped ginger, ¼ cup mint leaves, ½ teaspoon roasted cumin powder, ½ teaspoon chaat masala, ½ teaspoon black salt and ¼ teaspoon salt, one by one into the jar.
- Close the lid of the jar and run the blender for 1-2 minute until all the components get well combined and frothy texture develops into it.
- Pour the pudina chaas directly into the glasses and serve immediately.
For plain chaas
- Take a jar of a blender and add 1 cup chilled yogurt, 2 cups cold water and ½ teaspoon salt, one by one into the jar.
- Close the lid of the jar and run the blender for 1 minute until all the components get well combined and frothy texture develops into it.
- Pour the plain chaas directly into the glasses and serve immediately.
