Mathura, also referred to as Krishnanagri or the city of Lord Krishna is one of the oldest cities of the Indian subcontinent. Situated by the river Yamuna, the city finds mention in many ancient scriptures. The birthplace of Lord Krishna is lined with temples big and small, all dedicated to Lord Krishna, of course. The city truly comes alive during Janmashtami, but it is bustling in its own right, on other days too. Mathura is also renowned for its vivid street food fare. It is rare to stumble upon stalls selling dishes made with meat or eggs, therefore, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the street food here is also vegetarian and Satvik in nature. Many happen to rear and breed their own cows. The pedas you see here, are made with fresh milk yielded from cows, and there are very many Lassi shops in the markets too. After offering their prayers to the gods, people often grab a glass full of Lassis from these shops and pair them with hot jalebis for a quick and satiating breakfast.
Most of these shops make lassis the traditional way, i.e in earthen pots, where the yogurt is hand-churned. It is mixed with sugar and ice and finished off with some malai. While this may be the standard way of making Lassis, but people in Mathura sure know how to make something as simple, super captivating. In one of the latest videos posted by food blogger Amar Sirohi @foodie.incarnate, we came across the ‘flying lassi’ of Mathura.
It seems like everything is flying on the internet nowadays from Dosas to Dahi Bhallas, there’s apparently nothing that these street food vendors cannot flip in the air.
Nathu Yadav Lassi Wale is a famous Lassi shop in Mathura. Almost 70 years old, this lassi shop makes fresh lassi with in-house curd. To make this lassi, the vendor adds some curd in the pot, and then throws in some sugar and then runs a muddler to beat the curd. "Sab desi sauda hai” (everything is done the old-school, Indian way), he remarks, as he churns the lassi with hands and then proceeds to crush some ice using a wooden bat, before adding it to the pot. Other notable additions to the lassi are gulab jal or rose water, rooh afza or rose sharbat, cardamom.
After this he flips the kulhad in air and grabs it, inside the kulhad he pours the lassi, and adds some more roohafza, he transfers the lassi back into the wide-mouthed spoon he used to pour the lassi and then back into the Kulhad. He does it multiple times so that the rooh afza is nicely mixed with lassi, and not a single drop is spilled through the process. He tops the lassi with mawa or khoya, some more roohafza and malai. The video has clocked more than 505k views in less than 4 days.
Slurping much? Have you tried this lassi in Mathura or would like to try it soon? Do let us know how you liked it. If you are simple, home-made lassi, here's a recipe we are sure you'd like.
