P is for Piyush

Move over Smoothies- I have Piyush!

Calling Piyush the Maharashtrian version of Lassi helps explain what it is but also does it gross injustice. Piyush is to Lassi is what the Ice Cream Sundae is to a single scoop of Vanilla ice cream.

It’s what we Maharashtrians do when we have some Shrikhand leftover and not enough to go around.

I first heard about this through my bedtime story sessions with our grand-aunt. Invariably, I would ask her for stories of her childhood. One of my favourite ones was about the ‘Ganpati nap’. One year, during the Ganpati celebrations, she and her siblings, after a particularly large and festive meal, decided to lie down for a short nap. Their bedrooms were in a corner, set slightly away from the main living area. As you would expect, it turned out that the nap lasted for several hours during which the elders were frantically looking around for the ‘missing’ children. All the commotion that followed and the knocking on doors went unheard as they slumbered on.

When at last, the search party managed to find and wake them up, the children were severely (and unfairly) admonished for playing truant.

They blamed it on the large helpings of food and in particular, the combination of a rice based meal followed by a cold glass of delicious Piyush.

So if it’s a Sunday snooze, you’re after you know what to add to your curry-rice combo.

P is for Piyush

Ingredients :

1 cup Shrikhand

1/4 – cup water (or full fat milk, if you prefer a richer version )

1 tsp of sugar

a generous tablespoon of chopped pistachios/almonds (optional)

Piyush – sweet, cool and refreshing

Method:

1. Whisk the shrikhand and sugar with the water or milk until it’s all blended together.

2. Garnish with the chopped nuts, if using.

3. Serve cold.

It’s a great mid morning drink and equally refreshing with a spicy curry.