Pinu

A wide array of ingredients, from nuts and seeds to herbs, flowers, and fruits, come together in different combinations in these traditionally inspired Indian beverages. It’s certainly a challenge to distill all the delicious beverages that Indian cuisine has to offer into a single chapter. Here, I’ve covered many of the most popular along with some of my own variations adapted to my Western kitchen. I’ve organized them by consistency—yogurt-based, milk-based, and water/juice-based. I use soy-, nut-, or oat-based yogurts or milks in place of dairy to remain quite true to the originals. The yogurt drinks (such as Chhās) are cooling and work well with spicier dishes (such as Hearty Masālā Khichadi), the milk-based drinks (such as Masālā Chāi) are warming and comforting, and the water/juice-based ones (such as Orange Curry Leaf Cooler) are bright and refreshing.