ਛਾਛ

Meaning

Chaas is buttermilk in its traditional sense: the thin liquid left behind after butter has been churned out of curd. The word covers both the plain churned liquid and the seasoned drink made from it, thinned with water and flavoured.

What it is

When dahi is churned to make butter, the butter rises and what remains is chaas — naturally low in fat, slightly tangy, and much thinner than lassi. For drinking, it is whisked with water and seasoned simply: salt, roasted cumin powder, sometimes a pinch of black salt, crushed curry leaves or a little asafoetida (hing).

Unlike lassi, which is rich enough to be a meal, chaas is light and endlessly drinkable. It is considered excellent for digestion — Punjabi households serve it after heavy meals — and it is the everyday summer drink of the villages, cheaper and more refreshing than anything bottled.

The difference between the two drinks is worth remembering: lassi is thick curd churned smooth and often sweetened; chaas is the thinner by-product of butter-making, almost always salted and spiced. Both begin with dahi, but they end in very different glasses.

Cultural context

Chaas belongs to the rhythm of the Punjabi farm household. In the morning the curd is churned, the butter is lifted off for the family’s ghee and white butter, and the chaas is drunk through the day — offered to labourers in the fields, to guests at the door, to children coming home from school. Nothing is wasted.

Because it is humble and homemade, chaas rarely gets the restaurant glory that lassi enjoys. But ask a Punjabi what they drink in the heat of May, and the answer is as likely to be a steel glass of salted chaas, beaded with condensation, as anything else.

ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਵਿੱਚ ਅਰਥ

ਛਾਛ ਦਹੀਂ ਵਿੱਚੋਂ ਮੱਖਣ ਕੱਢਣ ਤੋਂ ਬਾਅਦ ਬਚੇ ਹੋਏ ਪਤਲੇ ਤਰਲ ਨੂੰ ਕਹਿੰਦੇ ਹਨ। ਇਸ ਵਿੱਚ ਪਾਣੀ ਮਿਲਾ ਕੇ ਨਮਕ ਅਤੇ ਭੁੰਨਿਆ ਹੋਇਆ ਜੀਰਾ ਪਾਇਆ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਹੈ।

ਛਾਛ ਲੱਸੀ ਨਾਲੋਂ ਪਤਲੀ ਹੁੰਦੀ ਹੈ ਅਤੇ ਹਾਜ਼ਮੇ ਲਈ ਬਹੁਤ ਚੰਗੀ ਮੰਨੀ ਜਾਂਦੀ ਹੈ। ਗਰਮੀਆਂ ਵਿੱਚ ਪਿੰਡਾਂ ਵਿੱਚ ਰੋਜ਼ ਛਾਛ ਪੀਤੀ ਜਾਂਦੀ ਹੈ।

ਮਹਿਮਾਨਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਵੀ ਛਾਛ ਪਿਲਾਉਣ ਦਾ ਰਿਵਾਜ ਹੈ। ਇਹ ਗਰੀਬ-ਅਮੀਰ ਸਭ ਦੇ ਘਰਾਂ ਦੀ ਆਮ ਪੇਯ ਹੈ।