Lassi is the traditional Indian yogurt drink often served with meals. It is generally made by blending yogurt with water, creating a cool, smooth beverage associated especially with Punjab and the wider Indian subcontinent.
Traditional lassi can be savory, with salt, roasted cumin, or black pepper, or sweet, with sugar, cardamom, rosewater, saffron, or fruit. Mango lassi is a globally familiar modern variation, but fruit is not required for the drink to qualify as lassi.
The drink’s name is connected with the Hindi, Urdu, and Punjabi word for yogurt mixed with water. In Punjab, lassi has traditionally been prepared with rich buffalo-milk yogurt and served chilled, sometimes in a clay cup called a kulhar.
Lassi is often confused with buttermilk, but the terms do not describe exactly the same drink everywhere. Lassi is yogurt-based and commonly thicker, while Indian chaas or regional buttermilk preparations are often thinner and more heavily seasoned. Kefir, by contrast, is a fermented milk drink with a different microbial culture and origin.