Summer is here to stay for a long time in the northern part of Texas. Days are long and very warm. I can step out only during the early hours of the day or the later hours of the evening. While I am out in the garden, I am trying to wage a losing battle with all the pests, big and small, that want to invade my produce. As the saying goes, you win some and you lose a lot. But those small wins still make you smile and want for more. That’s what gardens teach us about Life.
Summers as a Child
I grew up in a similarly hot place in southern India. Summers were brutal – even more so than Texas. And we had no air conditioning. We also witnessed rolling blackouts of power as the grids struggled to stay in business. I recall heat fumes rise out of the tar roads like mirages. Never tried it, but I could have, perhaps, scrambled an egg on the hot street.
Adults slumbered during the hottest part of the day, but we kids didn’t care. Schools were closed, and that meant playing outdoors all morning and afternoon. Hopscotch, 5 stones (small round pebbles are deftly tossed and caught mid-air in various combinations), scaling huge mango trees, making manja out of broken glass for kites and a variety of activities that now seem so dangerous.
Worn out and dog tired, we’d drag ourselves back home, just as adults woke up from their afternoon siestas. After being told to wash up, I’d be served several varieties of homemade chilled drinks, depending on what was available at home.
Masala Majjige
One of my favorite drinks after a hard day’s play was this Masala Majjige. Majjige is buttermilk in my mother tongue Kannada. ‘Spiced’ is a loose translation of the word masala. Think of buttermilk as a opposite end of the spectrum to Greek yogurt.
There are two types of buttermilk. One is the Traditional buttermilk. Buttermilk was the protein rich liquid that was left behind after hand churning butter out from fresh cream. This is how buttermilk was made in most homes while I was growing up. Spices and herbs were added to this whey to make this majjige. Zero waste! The second type – Cultured buttermilk – is made by churning yogurt or curd into a watery consistency by simply adding a lot of water. this is a probiotic-rich food.
Almost all the buttermilk that is available in stores is cultured. Do you recall how your family made buttermilk when you were growing up? Did you buy it from the store or make it at home?
How to Make Homemade Yogurt
Masala Buttermilk
My buttermilk is still homemade. It is not traditional but cultured, if you go by the true definition. I make yogurt from raw milk (go to Real Milk Finder to find sources of raw milk in your state in the United States).
Here’s how to make yogurt for this Masala Majjige recipe:
Heat 2 cups of milk (raw or pasteurized) on a low/medium flame using a thick-bottomed vessel. A food thermometer comes in handy. Heat milk to 180 degrees Fahrenheit. Allow it to cool to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Add 2 teaspoons of yogurt culture (you can use plain organic store-bought yogurt) and mix it in well. Cover the milk and store it in a warm place for 6-8 hours. If you have an Instant Pot, use the “Yogurt” setting and set the timer for 4-6 hours, depending on how sour you want your yogurt to be.
Yes, it is that easy to make yogurt at home! No gelatin, no preservatives, no chemicals. Nada. Just pure creamy goodness.
If you want to try out the recipe and are too busy to make buttermilk from homemade yogurt, you have a couple of options. One, buy organic whole milk yogurt from the store, preferably grass-fed. Two, buy a good quality Bulgarian buttermilk with no additives. If you are using buttermilk, use half the quantity of water, and be mindful of the salt you add, since store bought buttermilk already has added salt.
Other Healthy Drinks
If you love probiotic drinks and homemade smoothies, check out our recipes:
- Probiotic Kombucha
- Banana Avocado Smoothie
- DIY Almond Milk
- Kaanji – a Fermented Drink
- Romaine Ginger Smoothie
- Refreshing Watermelon Mint Ginger Smoothie
- Spiced Mulled Wine
- Easy Homemade Kefir
- Vegan Golden Turmeric Milk
This nutrient- and probiotic-packed drink holds the key to helping improve many immune and digestive linked health issues. Ginger provides additional benefits to reduce inflammation. Add this to your diet along with other gut supporting foods like kefir, yogurt, kimchi, miso, and sauerkraut for a healthy lifestyle.
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Masala Majjige | Spiced Buttermilk | Chaas
Ingredients
- 2 Cups Yogurt - Full Fat, Soured. Or store-bought buttermilk
- 2 Cups Filtered water - Use 1 cup if using buttermilk
- 2 Inch Ginger - Fresh
- 4 Green Chili Pepper - Or to taste
- 16 Sprigs Cilantro - Leaves + Stalk
- 1/4 Teaspoon Himalayan Pink Salt - Skip if buttermilk has salt
- 1 Teaspoon Lime Juice - Optional. Use if yogurt is not sour
- 8 Ice Cubes - Optional (if you want to served chilled right away)
Tempering
- 1/2 Teaspoon Coconut Oil
- 1/2 Teaspoon Mustard Seeds
- 1/4 Teaspoon Asafoetida (Hing) - Hing
- 1 Sprig Curry Leaves - Finely cut
Instructions
- Add roughly chopped green chili peppers, ginger root, cilantro sprigs and salt to a high speed blender.
- Add yogurt/curd. Add water, ice cubes (if using) and lime juice (if the yogurt is not sour enough). If using full fat yogurt, use more water. If using buttermilk, add less water.
- Blend at high speed until everything is blended and the buttermilk is frothy.
- Taste and adjust the water, salt, spice and sourness levels. Give it one more churn in the blender.
Tempering
- Heat coconut oil in a tempering dish. Splutter mustard seeds, add asafoetida (hing) and finely chopped curry leaves.
- Pour tempering into the masala buttermilk. Mix and refrigerate or serve right away.
Notes
Nutrition
Totally loved this when you gave it to me! Looks nice and cooling in the kullad there. Can’t wait for more.
I’ll make this as a ‘welcome back’ drink for you. It will still be summer here.