Sweet Lassi is India's most popular traditional yogurt-based drink — thick, cold natural yogurt blended with sugar, cardamom, and ice until smooth and frothy. It's thicker than a smoothie, tangier than a milkshake, and served as a cooling drink alongside spicy food, as an afternoon refreshment, or as a digestive after heavy meals. It's the traditional parent of Mango Lassi — simpler, unfruited, and the version most commonly drunk across India. The yogurt provides protein and probiotics; the sugar provides energy; the cardamom provides aroma.

Does lassi help with spicy food?

Yes — lassi is the most effective remedy for chilli heat because of biochemistry, not folk tradition. The casein protein in yogurt physically binds to capsaicin molecules (the compound that produces the burning sensation from chillies) and removes them from your taste receptors. Water spreads capsaicin around your mouth. Alcohol dissolves it but only temporarily. But dairy proteins — casein specifically — grab capsaicin and neutralise it. A thick, cold Sweet Lassi between bites of Vindaloo or Madras genuinely works.

What is the difference between Sweet Lassi and Mango Lassi?

Sweet Lassi uses only yogurt, sugar, cardamom, and ice — no fruit. It's tangier, lighter, and more refreshing. Mango Lassi adds mango pulp to the yogurt, making it fruitier, sweeter, thicker, and golden in colour. Sweet Lassi is the traditional everyday version drunk across India. Mango Lassi is the export-friendly version popular in UK and US Indian restaurants. Both use the same yogurt base and the same blending technique — the only difference is the mango.

Salt Lassi (Namkeen Lassi) replaces the sugar with salt and adds roasted cumin powder — producing a savoury, tangy, cumin-scented yogurt drink. It tastes like a drinkable raita. Popular in Punjab, Rajasthan, and Gujarat, Salt Lassi is more refreshing than Sweet Lassi on extremely hot days because the salt replenishes electrolytes lost through sweating. It's unfamiliar to many outside India but highly addictive once tried.

Where can I buy lassi ingredients in the UK?

Pick N Save (picknsave.co.uk) stocks Desi Natural Yogurt (1kg — full-fat, thick, ideal for lassi), TFS Green Cardamom (whole pods with fresh seeds), sugar, saffron (for Kesar Lassi), pistachio kernels (for garnish), KTC Rose Water (for Rose Lassi), Rooh Afza (for pink lassi), and KTC Alphonso Mango Pulp (for Mango Lassi). One yogurt purchase, six possible lassi variations. Home delivery across London and the UK, plus click and collect from Harrow — established 1999.

How many calories are in Sweet Lassi?

A glass of Sweet Lassi (approximately 200ml) contains 165 calories, with 8g of protein and 22g of sugar. The calories come primarily from the sugar — reducing to 2 tablespoons instead of 3 drops the total to approximately 130 calories. Salt Lassi (savoury, no sugar) contains approximately 80 calories. Mango Lassi contains approximately 200 calories due to the added mango pulp. All versions provide 8g of protein and probiotics from the live yogurt.

Sweet Lassi Recipe - Thick Indian Yogurt Drink (5 Minutes)

Easy Indian Recipes

Sweet Lassi Recipe - Thick Indian Yogurt Drink (5 Minutes)

5 mins 4 servings Easy

Prep Time 5 mins

Total Time 5 mins

Servings 4

About This Recipe

Make thick, frothy Sweet Lassi in 5 minutes - cold yogurt blended with sugar, cardamom, and a pinch of saffron until smooth and creamy. India's #1 cooling drink and the essential companion to spicy curries. Thicker than a smoothie, tangier than a milkshake, and the perfect palate-cleanser. Every ingredient at Pick N Save.

Ingredients

For Sweet Lassi (Serves 4)

400g thick natural yogurt, cold (Desi Natural Yogurt 1kg )
200ml cold water or cold milk (Freshways Whole Milk 2L )
3 tbsp sugar (Tate & Lyle Sugar Granulated 1kg)
Seeds from 3 cardamom pods, crushed (TFS Green Cardamom Jumbo 50g)
4–5 ice cubes

For Garnish (Optional but Recommended)

Pinch of ground cardamom
3–4 saffron strands soaked in 1 tsp warm milk (TFS Premium Spanish Saffron Grade 1 — 1g)
2–3 crushed pistachio pieces (Fudco Pistachio Kernels 600g )

Method

Why This Recipe Works

You have Mango Lassi - now you have its simpler, more traditional parent. Sweet Lassi is the original: just yogurt, sugar, and cardamom, blended cold. No mango pulp, no fruit, no fuss. "Sweet lassi recipe" and "lassi recipe" are high-volume searches that your Mango Lassi page doesn't fully capture because people searching for "lassi" often want the plain/sweet version, not the mango version. This page captures that audience and cross-links to Mango Lassi for those who want the fruit version.

Recipe

Blend 400g thick yogurt (Desi Natural Yogurt 1kg), 200ml cold water or milk (Freshways Whole Milk 2L), 3 tablespoons sugar, seeds from 3 crushed cardamom pods (TFS Green Cardamom Jumbo 50g), and 4–5 ice cubes. Blend for 30 seconds until smooth and frothy. Pour into tall glasses. Top with a pinch of ground cardamom, a few saffron strands (TFS Premium Spanish Saffron Grade 1 - 1g), and crushed pistachios (Fudco Pistachio Kernels 600g). Serve immediately.

Variations: Salt Lassi (replace sugar with ½ teaspoon salt + pinch cumin powder - the savoury version), Rose Lassi (add 1 tablespoon rose water - KTC Rose Water 450ml - and pink food colour), Strawberry Lassi (add 100g fresh strawberries).

Nutrition Facts

Energy 165 kcal (8% RI)

Fat 5 g – Low (7% RI)

Saturates 3 g – Medium (15% RI)

Carbohydrates 22 g (8% RI)

Fibre 0 g (0% RI)

Protein 8 g (16% RI)

Sugars 22 g – Medium (24% RI)

Salt 0.3 g – Low (5% RI)

*RI = Reference Intake. Per serving = 1 glass (approx 200ml). Sugar is the main calorie contributor — reduce to 2 tablespoons for a less sweet version. Yogurt provides live probiotics for gut health.