5 Minute Creamy Rose Lassi Recipe

•Vegetarian, gluten-free, vegan option

• Quick, lightly sweet treat

Lassis are a popular Indian yogurt drink.  They are easy to make with a handful of ingredients.

 A basic, traditional lassi recipe only requires plain whole milk yogurt, milk or water, and ice. The top of the lassi is usually frothy.  It’s the perfect drink for hot summer days and just any meal where you’d like a drink with cooling properties.

There are many types of lassi.  Some lassi recipes include Mango Lassi, Sweet Lassi Recipe, Peach Lassi, Kesar Lassi, Salted Lassi, and Strawberry Lassi.   

Lassi is pronounced luh-see, not Lassie like the dog 😊

Ingredients & Substitutes

You only need 4 ingredients for an authentic mango lassi with the option of other ingredients.

Rose lassi is made of yogurt, rose essence, or rose simple syrup, sugar, and milk or water. It can be optionally flavored using spices such as cardamom powder.

Yogurt: The main ingredient is yogurt/curd.  The creamier, thicker lassi you want, the higher fat content yogurt you should use.  I recommend using whole milk plain yogurt or Greek Yogurt.  If I want a delicious rich lassi, I go all out and use Fage 5% Greek Yogurt.

Milk or Water: Like above, if you want a creamier lassi, use whole milk.  If you’d like a lighter version, use 2% milk or water. You can also adjust the amount of milk/water to get the consistency to your preference.

Rosewater or rose syrup: I use either Monin brand rose syrup or Nielsen Massey bran rosewater.  If I use Monin, I do not need to add any additional sugar.  It also has no added colors, it is naturally colored, unlike Rooh Afza which has Red 40.

You can also make rose simple syrup from dried rose petals.  I will update that version soon.

Sugar: Dependent on whether you use rosewater or rose syrup you will have to adjust the amount of sugar.  Rose syrup already has sugar in it. Feel free to use sugar alternatives or the sweetener of your choice that you enjoy. 

TIP: honey does not mix well with cold liquid so I don’t recommend using it here (you could boil it with milk/water and chill it before adding it to the lassi). Maple syrup does blend with cold drinks though.

Half and half: Optional – Gives you that restaurant-style creaminess! I like the option of half and half (because most people have it on hand). It is made of half whole milk and half heavy cream so you can up the level of creaminess easily, no matter the ingredients you have at home. You can also add in a little fresh cream / heavy whipping cream to up the richness of the delicious drink.

Cardamom: Optional – I think rose lassi tastes great without any added flavor but cardamom does go beautifully with rose.

Natural color: Monin brand will provide a natural pink color. If you use rose water or rose essence, in the US you can find McCormick brand natural colors.

TIP: Garnish optionally with crushed pistachios or crushed fresh rose petals for a pop of color

How to make Rose Lassi

To make the lassi, simply add all ingredients to the blender jar and blend!  Blending will make it naturally frothy.

Making lassi is a choose-your-adventure recipe (or choose what you have on hand in your fridge!). 

1. If you want a thick, creamy restaurant-style lassi, go with all higher fat content ingredients.  For example, whole milk, whole milk plain yogurt, half & half, and sugar.
2. If you want a middle-of-the-road lassi, mix, and match.  Maybe you will use whole milk yogurt, water, half and half (for a tiny bit of creaminess), and sugar.
3. Or, you could go for a lighter version.  In that case, maybe you will pick a low-fat yogurt such as 2% Fage Greek Yogurt or another yogurt, water, and sugar.

You can play around with the amount of water/milk as well to make a thicker lassi.  Less water and ice cubes will still result in a yummy drink.

Serving Suggestions

Pour cold rose lassi into serving glasses and you will get a creamy, frothy top. It is usually served in tall glasses at restaurants.

Lassi goes along with any Indian food or spicy Indian meal.  It’s a great way to finish an Indian dinner as it’s sweet like a dessert and cools down your stomach.

Variations

Vegan Rose Lassi: Substitute with vegan yogurt and milk to make it vegan.  Oat milk is creamy and thick so I recommend using that.

Light version: See below for notes on making a lighter version.

Lassi with Rooh Afza: Roohafza syrup is popularly used for rose lassi.  I’m not a fan of it because of the artificial color used in it, specifically Red 40.  It also has kewra in it which is screw pine.  You can use it if that is what you have on hand.

Rose Lavender Lassi: For an even bigger floral taste, you can also add a splash of lavender syrup. 

Storing

Lassi can be made ahead of time. Just store it in an airtight container in the fridge.

Enjoy making this popular drink at home!