Rose lassi (gulab lassi): three ways to make it
Rose lassi, or gulab lassi, three ways: with rose sharbat, with gulkand, or with rose water and mishri. Exact amounts and a five-minute method.
The short answer
Rose lassi is sweet lassi flavoured with rose. The quickest way is to blend 200 g of thick curd with 30 ml of rose sharbat, a little chilled water and ice. You can also make it with two teaspoons of gulkand for a thicker, petal-flecked lassi, or with a few drops of rose water and mishri. All three take five minutes.
Lassi and rose are an old pairing in north India: the sourness of the curd keeps the rose from becoming cloying, and the rose turns an everyday drink into something for guests.
Ingredients (rose sharbat version)
• 200 g thick, cold curd (dahi)
• 30 ml clear rose sharbat
• 80 ml chilled water or milk
• 3–4 ice cubes
• A few chopped pistachios or dried rose petals, to finish (optional)
Method
1. Put the curd, rose sharbat, chilled water or milk and ice in a blender or a deep jug.
2. Blend for 20–30 seconds, or whisk hard with a mathani, until smooth and frothy.
3. Taste and add a little more sharbat if you want it sweeter.
4. Pour into a tall glass, finish with pistachios, and serve at once.
Version 2: gulkand lassi
Blend 200 g of curd with 2 heaped teaspoons of Rose Gulkand, 80 ml of chilled milk and ice. The petals break down into soft flecks, and the lassi comes out thicker and less sharp than the sharbat version. Gulkand is already sweet, so taste before adding anything else. With Kesar Elaichi Gulkand it becomes a saffron-cardamom lassi, good for a festive meal.
Version 3: rose water lassi
Blend 200 g of curd with 2 teaspoons of powdered mishri or sugar, 80 ml of chilled water and ice, then stir in ½ teaspoon of rose water at the end. Rose water carries scent but no sweetness, so you control the sugar separately; it is the version to make if you want a less sweet lassi. Add it last and do not overdo it — too much tastes soapy. What rose water is good for
Tips
• Use thick, fresh curd. Sour, watery curd makes a thin lassi. Hung curd makes it almost spoonable.
• Keep it cold. Chilled curd, chilled water and ice make the difference between a lassi and a warm yoghurt drink.
• Our sharbat is clear, so a sharbat lassi stays white. That is expected; there is no colour added. More ways to serve rose sharbat
• For a party, blend in batches and pour into chilled glasses just before serving.
The sharbat and gulkand versions are sweet, so people watching their sugar or managing diabetes may prefer the rose water version with little or no added sugar. Made with our Clear Rose Sharbat; delivery is a flat ₹39 anywhere in India.
Buy from the Haldighati valley
- Rose Gulkand — Sun-cured Damask rose petal preserve. 470 g, ₹449.
- Clear Rose Sharbat — Rose water and mishri, no added colour. 350 ml, ₹349.
- Rose Water — Steam-distilled Damask hydrosol. 200 ml, ₹249.