Prayagraj lassi, an irresistible combination of creamy goodness and delicious richness is a signature dessert of the holy city. This lassi is deemed to be on par with the legendary Banarasi lassi in terms of taste, quality and ingenuity.
In fact, only a true Banarasi or Prayagrajvaasi can correctly identify the subtle differences in the preparation of their respective lassi. The key ingredient is the thick full cream milk that is available in abundance in this belt.
The milk is first boiled, slightly cooled and curdled. Wide trays are used to set the curds to get a nice layer of malai on the top.
A portion of the set curds is scooped up into a jug or earthen pot and churned with a wooden mathani. The churned mixture is then skilfully poured into kulhads. A little bit of malai is placed on the top of each kulhad. A generous helping of freshly prepared rabri or rabdi is added to it and the lassi is topped off with a drizzle of kesar.
The lassiwala will sometimes add fresh peda or paneer if you want on the top. In the summers, the fruit lassis are hugely popular while in the winters, malaiyo is the preferred topping for the lassis.
The best way to eat and drink this lassi according to the locals is to first take a spoonful of rabri, take a sip of lassi, take a spoonful of malai and then a sip of lassi as the unsweetened rabri is balanced with the intensely sweet lassi and creamy malai.
Written by Lakshmi Subramanian
* Photos are only symbolic (Taken from public domain/internet and any copyright infringement is unintentional and regrettable)
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