Is grainy ghee a sign of adulteration
A common worry, answered: what grain in ghee means, and what it does not.
Rajkot and the afternoon chaas
Why lunch in Saurashtra ends with a steel glass of buttermilk, and how we spice ours.
In Rajkot the shops close in the afternoon and lunch ends with chaas. It is a habit as old as the town: a thin, cool buttermilk with salt and spices, drunk from a steel glass after rotla, kadhi and shaak.
Real chaas is what is left after butter is churned from curd. It is thinner and lighter than dahi beaten with water, and slightly sour. Ours comes straight from the morning churn. We spice it the way Shardaben’s family did in Gondal: roasted jeera ground fresh, a little grated ginger, a slit green chilli, curry leaves crushed in the hand, and rock salt.
Some families in Rajkot add a pinch of hing or fresh coriander. Others want it plain, with only salt, to drink with spicy food. We make two kinds every day, masala and plain, and you can choose in your order.
Chaas is best on the day it is made, though it keeps a day in the fridge. It gets more sour as it sits, which some people prefer. In summer we deliver over 400 bottles a morning across Rajkot, from Kalawad Road to Raiya Road. Return the empty bottles to the delivery boy and we wash and reuse them.
