Chaas Recipe (Indian Spiced Buttermilk)

The classic Chaas (Chaach/Mattha) also known as the Indian version of buttermilk is a refreshingly cooling summer drink made with creamy yogurt and seasonings. Here you’ll find step-by-step instructions with photos for making two chaas recipes – Masala Chaas and Pudina Chaas. Called by various names across the country this spiced Indian buttermilk drink features lots of bold, delicious spices.

What is Chaas

Traditional Indian chaas is made by blending cold, rich yogurt with a bit of water and nearly any spices you like. Today I’m sharing with you two recipes for making chaas. The buttermilk is made by churning or blending yogurt and water with some spices and/or herbs. A bit of butter comes on the surface while churning.

If you prefer you can remove the butter fat aside and only serve the buttermilk or serve chaas with the butter fat. We love to have chaas with that bit of butterfat. To make chaas, you can use a blender, an immersion blender, a wired whisk or the traditional Indian handheld wooden churner (called madani).

Not only salty chaas is had during summers but also as a part of meals and sometimes before or after meals. There are again many ways of making it.

Variations

We also drink the buttermilk separated from blending/churning cultured cream or yogurt while making homemade butter – which is traditionally known as buttermilk all over the world. But here in India, we call both these drinks chaas or buttermilk – whether made from blending yogurt or derived from cream.

This summer drink in known by various names all over India – mattha (Hindi), taak (Marathi), chaach (Hindi), majjige (Kannada), moru (Tamil & Malayalam), majjiga (Telugu).

The North Indian versions of chaas are very simple and the ingredients are churned or blitzed in a blender.

The South Indian version has a few herbs and spices blended with the buttermilk and later mixed with a fried tempering mixture of mustard seeds, cumin and curry leaves.

If you are interested you can look at this South Indian recipe of Neer Mor which is made differently than the chaach recipes I have shared here.

Chaas is also street food and in many Indian cities you will find vendors selling this spiced buttermilk, especially in the hot summers. Sometimes this mattha drink is also smoked with charcoal fumes which gives it an earthy smoky flavor.

1. Masala Chaas

This first version is your classic, simple basic recipe for making masala chaas with just a hint of black salt, a few mint leaves and cumin, along with ideas to prepare your favorite spicy version and tips for adding your preferred seasonings.

Some variations of authentic spiced Masala Chaas, also include herbs like coriander (cilantro) leaves. Plus, chopped green chiles, ginger or black pepper for an extra bit of bite.

Some of these ingredients are very flavorful and they happen to be great for your gut health, too! The yogurt, black salt, ginger, cumin, and coriander leaves are all known to aid in digestion and help boost energy.

I have used a blender to make masala chaach. Feel free to customize the spices and herbs according to your likings.

2. Pudina Chaas

After you make this spiced classic Indian buttermilk version, be sure to try my Pudina chaas recipe. It is another classic chaach that’s flavored with mint leaves for a tasty summer treat!

Both buttermilk and mint (pudina) are cooling and thus their combination would double the cooling properties in this traditional drink. Mint has many health benefits and is also excellent as a detox ingredient.

Seasonings, Spices and Herbs

For any chaas or chaach variation that you make and that includes the “plain” Indian buttermilk, black salt – known as kala namak is often added. This special ingredient is used in many summer coolers.

It is an intrinsic part of Shikanjvi (Indian lemonade), another popular North Indian summer coolant. (You can also add black salt in fruit juices like apple pomegranate juice, black grapes juice etc, for a bit of sulfur-like saltiness that really enhances the sweetness of the fruit.)

Along with the black salt, ground cumin is a common addition to most chaas recipes. The combination of salt and cumin adds a terrifically earthy and vibrant zing to the buttermilk drink. Cumin also helps in digestion.

How to make Masala Chaas

1. To a large blender add 1.5 cups of chilled or cold curd (yogurt), 1 teaspoon of roasted ground cumin, 1 tablespoon of chopped mint leaves or coriander leaves (cilantro), and ½ teaspoon of black salt (or regular salt, as needed).

For a spicy version of masala chaas, add ½ teaspoon of fresh grated ginger and ½ teaspoon of chopped green chillies OR ¼ teaspoon of black pepper.

2. Next add 1 cup of cold or room temperature water. For a colder spiced Indian buttermilk, add a few ice cubes.

3. Blend for 2 to 3 minutes, until the ingredients are combined and the curd has been whisked well. You should see a nice frothy foamy layer on the top with a bit of butter fat separated from the blending.

How to make Pudina Chaas

1. Chop 10 to 15 mint leaves (pudina). Measure and you should get about 2 tablespoons chopped mint leaves. If fresh leaves are unavailable, add 1 to 2 teaspoon dried mint leaves.
2. In a blender take 1 cup curd (cold or chilled), 1 teaspoon roasted cumin powder, salt (black salt or edible rock salt or regular salt) according to taste, ⅔ cup water and the chopped mint leaves.
3. Blend for a few minutes until smooth and you see some butter fat layer on the buttermilk.
4. Pour pudina chaach in glasses. If you like add a few ice cubes. You can refrigerate the chaach for a few hours to serve later

Serving Suggestions

Whichever chaas recipe you have made, pour the spiced Indian buttermilk into tall glasses. Garnish with mint leaves or coriander leaves and serve cold.

You can also store the buttermilk in the refrigerator and serve later. Just be sure to use within one full day for the freshest taste.

Expert Tips

• Seasoning Variations: You can skip the black salt, if you don’t have it. Simply use regular salt instead. If you don’t have ground roasted cumin powder, make your own with cumin seeds. Toast the seeds for a few minutes in a hot pan until fragrant. Then grind into a fine powder using a mortar and pestle or in a spice-grinder. Other spices and herbs which we add in spiced chaas or mattha are asafoetida (hing), ground fennel powder, ginger juice, and curry leaves.
• Herbs: Fresh herbs are preferred, but can be skipped if not available. If you have dried mint leaves, use them instead. You’ll need about 1 teaspoon of dried leaves to replace 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh mint in both the recipes.
• Garnishing: I like to save a few mint or coriander leaves to add to the glass of freshly prepared spiced mattha or Indian buttermilk.
• Scaling: Make a large batch easily by doubling or tripling the chaas recipe.
• Curd (Yogurt): Make sure that your curd is fresh and not sour for the best chaas.
• Ice cubes: Instead of adding ice cubes in the blender, you can add ice cubes at the end to serve the spiced mattha. But personally, I like to include the cubes when blending for the most refreshing drink.
• Consistency: Feel free to add more water or ice cubes if you like a thinner chaas or mattha.
• Fasting or Vrat: If making this recipe for religious fasting, like Navratri or Ekadashi, add edible and food grade rock salt or sendha namak.

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This chaas recipe from the blog archives (March 2014) has been republished and updated on 14 May 2021.