Chaas Recipe (Indian Buttermilk)

Chaas, also called Chaach or Mattha, is a refreshing Indian buttermilk drink made with yogurt, herbs, spices and seasonings. It is a cooling drink that is especially popular during the hot summer months. Lightly spiced and slightly tangy, chaas is often served as a digestive with meals. This post shares two easy variations – Masala Chaas and Pudina Chaas.

About Chaas

Chaas, also known as Indian buttermilk, is made by blending Curd (dahi) with water and a few spices or herbs. It is light, refreshing and commonly consumed during summer as well as with meals.

Traditionally, chaas is churned using a wooden churner (madani), but you can also use a blender, immersion blender or whisk.

While churning, a small amount of butter may separate and float on top. You can remove it or keep it as is. We prefer having chaas with that bit of butterfat.

In India, chaas can refer both to this yogurt-based drink and also to the liquid left after churning Butter from cream. Both are commonly called buttermilk.

There are many variations of this Indian buttermilk drink. Some are plain with just salt, while others are flavored with spices and herbs.

The first version is a simple masala chaas recipe. It is made with ingredients like black salt, roasted cumin powder and mint leaves. You can also add coriander leaves, green chilies, ginger or black pepper for extra flavor.

Black salt (kala namak) is commonly used in chaas and other summer drinks. It is also added to Shikanji (Indian lemonade) and even fruit juices for a slightly tangy, savory taste.

Roasted cumin powder is another key ingredient. It adds an earthy flavor and also helps with digestion.

You can easily adjust the spices and herbs based on your taste.

More Indian Fermented Foods

• Lassi
• Idli
• Panta Bhat
• Kokum Curry
• Curd Rice

How To Make Masala Chaas (Stepwise)

1. To a large blender add the following ingredients:

• 1½ cups of chilled or cold curd (yogurt)
• 1 teaspoon of roasted ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon of chopped mint leaves or coriander leaves (cilantro)
• ½ teaspoon of black salt (or regular salt, as needed)

For a spicy version of masala mattha recipe, 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.

Pudina Chaas Recipe

After you make this spiced classic Indian buttermilk version, be sure to try the 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.

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.

Dassana’s Recipe Tips

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Garnishing: I like to save a few mint or coriander leaves to add to the glass of freshly prepared spiced mattha or Indian buttermilk.
4. Scaling: Make a large batch easily by doubling or tripling the recipe.
5. Curd (Yogurt): Make sure that your curd is fresh and not sour.
6. 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.
7. Consistency: Feel free to add more water or ice cubes if you like a thinner consistency.
8. Fasting or Vrat: If making this recipe for religious fasting, like Navratri or Ekadashi, add edible and food grade rock salt or sendha namak.

Variations

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 Majjiga 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.

Chaas recipe from the blog archives was first published on March 2014.