15-Minute Salted Mint Lassi

I was raised by a master of culinary sleight of hand. When I’d come home from school with envious tales of the golden Tater Tots the other kids were having for lunch, my mother bamboozled me into believing steamed taro was exactly the same. I was repeatedly tricked into eating boiled daikon, assuming it was a potato. Her most impressive illusion involved calling whitebait sauté "coleslaw." The one time I didn’t mind getting swindled was when a creamy and thick lassi was presented as a milkshake. Even now, I’ll take a mango lassi over a milkshake any day.

Lassis are the original smoothies—tart whole-milk yogurt, whisked with buttermilk or milk and flavored with fruit or herb purées. They can lean sweet or savory, and sometimes, as a final touch, rich clotted cream is spooned on top of the drink, making its resemblance to a milkshake even more uncanny. There are countless variations on the beverage found throughout India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. Long before blenders or the Magic Bullet, these drinks were sipped alongside spicy tiffin lunches and chaats, offering relief between fiery bites and an easily digestible source of protein in a primarily vegetarian diet.

And while a savory beverage might sound bizarre, but it’s very common in India and other parts of South Asia, where the salt is ideal for rehydrating you in the sweltering heat. At their simplest, salted lassis contain yogurt, water, a pinch of salt, and toasted cumin. This version, called borhani in Bangladesh, contains an herbaceous purée of cilantro and mint, along with fruity Kashmiri red chili powder and a slap of funk from chaat masala.

Often served alongside biryani, borhani can be thought of as a drinkable raita, serving as both a beverage and a condiment for the meal and offering contrast to a meal of rich curries and rice. The tangy and perky drink offers contrast to a rich and meaty ghee-laden dish, cleansing your palate after each bite.