Mattha/Chaas
A chilled Indian yoghurt drink, whisked smooth and flavoured with cumin, ginger and green chilli. It is light, tangy and cooling, with a gentle spice kick.
Crushed cumin
2.1 gCrushed with chilli and ginger before stirring into the yoghurt (step 2)Everything else
Method
- Whisk 320 g greek yoghurt, 398 g water and salt to taste in a jug until smooth.
- Crush 2.1 g cumin seed with 2 g green bird's-eye chilli, deseeded, and 10 g fresh ginger in a pestle and mortar to a coarse mix; this is the crushed cumin.
- Stir the crushed cumin and 1.5 g coriander into the yoghurt mixture.
- Chill until cold before serving.
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Hung natural yoghurtUse the same weight and whisk smooth; same thick consistency.
Full-fat natural yoghurtUse 1.25 times the weight and strain through muslin for 30 minutes; looser if not strained.
Hung yogurtUse the same weight; virtually identical.
StockUse the same weight in savoury dishes; it adds body, so adjust salt.
MilkUse the same weight only in doughs or creamy dishes; it makes the result richer.
Coconut waterUse the same weight in curries or rice; it adds sweetness and a faint coconut taste.
Ground cuminUse 70% of the weight; add with ground spices or sauce bases rather than hot oil tempering, where it scorches quickly and turns bitter.
Black cumin seedsUse equal weight for oil tempering. Delivers an earthy profile with an additional musky, smoky, and slightly bitter edge.
Fennel seedUse 60% of the weight for tempering; offers comparable warm aroma, but leans sweet and liquorice-like rather than savoury and earthy.
- Bird's eye green chilli
Use the same weight; heat and flavour are very close.
Green chilliUse 1.5 to 2 times the weight; deseed for less heat. Larger chillies are more watery.
Fresh green chilliUse 1.5 to 2 times the weight; chop finely and adjust heat by tasting.
Ginger pasteUse equal weight. Sauté in hot fat until the raw allium smell disappears; slightly wetter, but provides identical warmth and pungency.
Ground gingerUse 20% to 25% of the weight (1 g for every 4 to 5 g fresh). Stir into the gravy; adds peppery heat and warmth, though it misses the crisp, zesty kick of raw root.
Coriander leafUse equal weight, chopped fresh and stirred in off the heat or used as garnish. Matches the citrus-herbal profile identically.
MintUse 40% to 50% of the weight; chop finely and add at the very end. Adds fresh herbal brightness, but shifts the aroma toward cool menthol.
Similar dishes
- Same: Shallot & Ginger Raita shares Greek yoghurt, cumin, ginger, coriander and salt with this dish, and both are served cold and cooling.
- Different: Shallot & Ginger Raita adds chopped banana shallot, mint and caster sugar and uses toasted cumin, while this dish adds water and green bird's-eye chilli and has no shallot, mint or sugar; it is a thin whisked drink rather than a thick raita.
- Same: Burnt Onion Raita shares Greek yoghurt and salt with this dish.
- Different: It adds roasted ground shallots and caster sugar and lacks water, cumin, ginger, green chilli and coriander; its method is roasting and grinding shallots into thick yoghurt, not whisking a thin drink.
- Same: Baingan Raita shares Greek yoghurt, cumin seed, salt and coriander with this dish.
- Different: It adds roasted aubergine, vegetable oil, black peppercorn, Kashmiri chilli powder and sugar, while this dish uses water, green bird's-eye chilli and fresh ginger and is whisked into a drink.
- Same: Shrikhand shares a chilled Greek yoghurt base with this dish and is also served cold without cooking.
- Different: Shrikhand is thick and sweetened with caster sugar, saffron and cardamom, with pistachio and pomegranate garnish, while this dish is watered down and seasoned with salt, cumin, ginger, green chilli and coriander.