Indian food culture has one of the most sophisticated relationships with fermented dairy of any cuisine in the world. Yoghurt, known as dahi, is used in cooking, served as a condiment, drunk as a beverage, and eaten for breakfast with almost equal frequency. If you’re travelling to India for the first time and you’re interested in fermented foods, here’s what to pay attention to.
Dahi: The Foundation of Everything
Dahi is not the same as the Greek or Turkish-style strained yoghurt you might be used to. It’s thinner, more fluid, and has a slightly different fermentation character because it’s typically made with a different bacterial culture. The flavour is milder and the texture more pourable, which is why it works so well mixed into rice, served alongside spicy curries, and used as a base for drinks like lassi and chaas.
Fresh dahi from a local mithai shop or a small dairy is a completely different product from anything you’d find in a supermarket. In cities like Varanasi, Jaipur, and Amritsar, you’ll find small shops that sell dahi made fresh each morning from local buffalo milk. Buffalo milk dahi is richer and thicker than cow’s milk versions and has a distinctive flavour that’s worth seeking out.
Lassi: The Drink Worth Having Every Day
Lassi is a yoghurt-based drink that comes in sweet and salted versions, and variations across regions. The version most people know is the sweet mango lassi, but the plain salted version (chaas or mattha) is arguably more interesting and more representative of how Indians actually drink it. Made with dahi, water, salt, and sometimes cumin, it’s refreshing, slightly sour, and a genuinely effective way to cool down in the heat.
In Punjab, lassi is traditionally made much thicker and richer, served in clay cups with a layer of malai (cream) on top. The famous Blue Lassi shop in Varanasi has been making fruit lassi in clay pots since 1925, and it draws a queue every morning from travellers who’ve heard about it. Try both the sweet and salted versions and notice how different they taste.
Raita: Yoghurt as a Cooling Element
Raita is a side dish made from dahi mixed with raw or cooked vegetables, fruit, or herbs. Cucumber raita is the most common, but you’ll also find versions with pomegranate, pineapple, beetroot, and boondi (fried gram flour balls). It’s served alongside spicy main dishes to provide balance, and it’s one of those things that seems simple but is done brilliantly when made with good yoghurt and the right proportions.
Eating raita made with fresh dahi and good-quality spices is one of the small pleasures of eating well in India. It doesn’t photograph well, it’s not dramatic, but it shows up at almost every proper meal and makes everything taste better.
Shrikhand and Regional Dairy Sweets
In Maharashtra and Gujarat, shrikhand is a sweet strained yoghurt dessert made with hung curd (very thoroughly strained dahi), sugar, saffron, and cardamom. It’s dense, fragrant, and utterly different from anything you’d find in a Western dessert context. Served chilled, it’s one of the best desserts in Indian cooking and one of the things that shows what yoghurt can become with a bit of patience.
Other regional dairy sweets worth trying include mishti doi (sweetened fermented yoghurt from Bengal, set in clay pots), and various varieties of chhena-based sweets in eastern India. Indian mithai shops are worth spending time in if you have any interest in fermented and cultured dairy in their many forms.
Practical Notes for Food-Focused Travel in India
Street food and small local restaurants in India are generally where you’ll eat best, but food safety is a legitimate consideration, especially for first-time visitors. The general guidance is to eat at places with high turnover, avoid raw leafy vegetables washed in tap water, and be cautious with ice in drinks. Cooked food and dahi from reputable shops is generally fine. Your stomach will adjust over a week or so, and the tradeoff in flavour is absolutely worth it.
