I was hit by that craving again. This time for the kind of buttermilk I used to have in Bangalore. I guess it was all that talking I did yesterday about the Silicon Valley of India.
Buttermilk or Chaas in North India is different from its fiery-flavored South Indian counterpart. During hot summer days, women would manthan (churn) this brilliant piece of technology to get the best buttermilk for their families. 
In a less traditional set up, a handheld wood churner is used to make buttermilk. But if you have neither, use an electric blender like I did!
Ingredients for South Indian Buttermilk are:
1 cup plain yogurt
Two and half cups cold water
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1 teaspoon very finely chopped green chilies
2 teaspoons very finely chopped coriander leaves
1-2 teaspoons cumin seeds, dry roasted and crushed coarsely
Pinch of asafetida
Salt
In a blender, add the yogurt, water, salt and asafetida. Give it a whisk for about 30 seconds. Check on the seasoning.
To this mixture, add the chopped ingredients and the crushed cumin. Mix well with a stirrer. Pour in glasses. Serve immediately.
A lot of people in South India add a tempering of mustard seeds and curry leaves to their buttermilk too.
You can drink a glass of buttermilk to accompany a spicy Indian meal. But that’s not all, a buttermilk has huge possibilities in an Indian home. It can be served both as an apéritif and as an after meal digestif.
10 comments:
mmmmmmmmm. looks ggood. and you're up early! :)
Lovely photographs :) and I like your post too. Glad to follow you :)
yummy buttermilk ..love to have it anytime ...lovely clicks ..awesome
Satya
http://www.superyummyrecipes.com
Just love this spiced buttermilk, very beautiful clicks..
That's a beautiful manthan !!! Yep, nothing beats the heat like buttermilk.
yuuummmm... you even make lassi look so gorgeous.. I like sweet lassi.. but dont mind salty as well...
Mmmmm yummy! Believe it or not, till 2 years ago my mom used to religiously make buttermilk the old fashioned way with a manthan! I used to tell her she was the only woman on the planet still doing so in the 21st century! Then she and my dad moved to a retired community for seniors where even their morning coffee is made for them, so she kindly passed the baton, in this case the manthan, on to me...I said "No thank you"! But she did pass on part of the legacy.....every day now I collect the cream from the milk I get from the dairyman and store it, then once a week I set it like I do yogurt, then churn it in a blender, separate the butter from the buttermilk (which is the most delicious buttermilk I have ever had, my dogs sit there on the floor while I am doing this panting and salivating for a few drops of it), then I melt the butter and make it into ghee! Which, i never use in my cooking, so I bottle it and give it all away to the retirement community my parents live in! Full circle huh?
Thank you everyone. Its these simple pleasures of life that are the most attractive.
Kamini, you are a kind woman. I am sure your parents are proud of you. Do you add a pinch of turmeric to your ghee? The lady who worked for me for some time in Bangalore, Laxmi amma used to do that. It turns ghee into a gorgeous color.
I love buttermilk anytime...
Looks awesome South Indian Buttermilk with equally good explanation. Astrolika
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