Sweet Lassiਲੱਸੀ

Name: Sweet Lassi
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Punjabi
Ingredients: 2 cups thick whole-milk yogurt (dahi); 1/2 cup cold water or chilled milk; 3 tbsp, or to taste sugar (chini); 3 pods green cardamom (elaichi), freshly ground; a pinch saffron strands (kesar), optional; 2 tbsp fresh cream (malai), to top; 1 tbsp chopped pistachios (pista), to garnish; optional dried rose petals, to garnish

⏱ Prep 5m🍳 Cook 5m🍽 Serves 2🌿 Vegetarian

Video: Swasthi's Recipes (YouTube)

Sweet lassi is Punjab's most generous gift to the world — a thick, frothy yogurt drink that cuts the summer heat like nothing else. The real Punjabi version is made with full-fat yogurt churned until airy, sweetened simply with sugar and perfumed with a whisper of cardamom. It is the drink served in clay kulhads at dhaba roadside stalls, and it is spectacularly simple to make at home.

📍 Make it in Plano

This recipe is the same everywhere — but where you buy the ingredients and eat the dish is local to you.

Finding Desi spots near Plano…

Ingredients

▪thick whole-milk yogurt (dahi)2 cups
▪cold water or chilled milk1/2 cup
▪sugar (chini)3 tbsp, or to taste
▪green cardamom (elaichi), freshly ground3 pods
▪saffron strands (kesar), optionala pinch
▪fresh cream (malai), to top2 tbsp
▪chopped pistachios (pista), to garnish1 tbsp
▪dried rose petals, to garnishoptional

🌍 Cooking abroad? Substitutions

Full-fat Greek yogurt is the best substitute abroad for thick dahi — it has the right fat content and sourness. Avoid low-fat yogurt; the lassi will be watery and lack the characteristic creaminess.
Fresh malai (cream layer) from boiled full-fat milk is the traditional topping; regular heavy whipping cream spooned on top gives the same richness if malai is unavailable.
Rose water can substitute for dried rose petals — just a few drops stirred in add the same floral note. Kulhads or clay cups add a wonderful earthy aroma to the drink but any tall glass works.

Method

1If using saffron, bloom it in 1 tbsp of warm water for 5 minutes.
2Combine yogurt, cold water or milk, sugar, and ground cardamom in a blender.
3Blend on high for 60–90 seconds until completely smooth and frothy — the surface should be thick with foam.
4Taste and adjust sweetness. Add the saffron water if using and pulse once more.
5Pour into tall chilled glasses, filling three-quarters of the way up.
6Spoon a thick layer of fresh cream on top — this is the traditional Punjabi dhabha style.
7Garnish with chopped pistachios and dried rose petals if using. Serve immediately while the foam is still alive.

A Desi.Net original recipe · part of our Indian Cuisine library. Confirm details and adjust to taste.