This recipe by food blogger Sangita Agrawal is an improvised version of the classic chaas and incorporates a smoky flavour into the refreshing summer drink.
Photographs: Courtesy Sangita Agrawal
Smoked Masala Chaas
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 1½ cup plain dahi or yoghurt
- 1 green chilly, chopped
- 3 cups of water
- ½ tsp chopped ginger
- 1 tsp roasted jeera or cumin powder
- 1 tsp kala namak or black salt
- Salt to taste
- 1 tbsp green dhania or coriander or cilantro, finely chopped
For the smoky flavour
- 1 piece of charcoal
- 4 to 5 drops of ghee or clarified butter
- A pinch of red chilly powder
- A small pinch hing or asafoetida
- A small steel bowl
Method
- Blend all the ingredients except water, in a blender till smooth.
Add the water and blend again.
Adjust the salt and seasoning as per taste. - Transfer the chaas into a flat, broad container, such that another smaller bowl can be placed inside it without toppling over.
Use a cake tin or a baking tray. - Heat a piece of charcoal till it turns reddish hot.
- Place the charcoal ino the smaller steel bowl, and place it inside the big bowl of chaas.
Try and place the bowl is such a manner that it doesn't topple over.
In the small bowl, add the ghee, hing, red chilly powder and cover the larger container/bowl with a large plate.
Do things quickly while the charcoal is hot, otherwise, the smoke will not be enough to flavour the chaas. - After 5 minutes, take off the the plate and take out the small bowl and discard the masala (the hing etc).
- Pour the smoked chaas into a tall glass and serve.
Sangita Agrawal lives in Mumbai and publishes the food blog Bliss of Cooking.
