7 Delicious Indian Drinks to Try Even Better than Chai and Lassi

In recent years drinks like masala chai or just chai, a popular Indian spiced tea, have spread like wildfire throughout the world.

While you'll find drink like lassi and chai at Indian restaurants all over the world, there are a whole range of tasty beverages found throughout India that are well worth trying.

Gajar Ka Doodh (Carrot Milk)

Although it might not sound like the most appetizing of beverages, the sweetness of carrots works surprisingly well to turn this drink into a delicious dessert-like concoction. To make Gaajar ka doodh carrots are cooked then mashed or blended and mixed with milk and sugar along with ground almonds and cardamom for extra flavor. Carrot is often used to make sweets and desserts in India, notably due to its natural sweetness.

Jigarthanda

Made with milk, ice cream and syrup, Jigarthanda is the perfect drink to cool down in hot summer weather. It's found all over the streets of Madurai in South India where it originated, especially during the warmer months of the year.

Noon Chai

Up in Kashmir, the local chai is made a little differently to the rest of India. Noon chai literally translates to 'salt tea' and while a little salt is added to the beverage, it doesn't make it off putting. A pinch of baking soda is added to the tea that reacts with the salt to give noon chai its unique pink color, and its usually garnished with pistachios and almonds. Unlike most of India where black tea is usually drunk, in Kashmir drinking green tea is common, which is often used to make noon chai.

Thandai

Made with a range of nuts, seeds and spices, this sweet milk drink is delicious and refreshing, especially in the summer. Popular in the north of India, especially during the festivals of Holi and Maha Shivratri, it's usually made with almonds, cashew nuts, cinnamon, cardamom and poppy seeds that's blended with milk and sugar.

Shikanjvi

Like an Indian-style lemonade, shikanjvi is a godsend to the hot summer weather of India. Mainly drunk in North India, this thirst-quenching beverage is made with freshly-squeezed lemons, ginger, salt, pepper, sugar and often cumin to give it its unique flavor. It's also common in Mumbai too where it's known as nimbu pani.

Indian Coffee

Chai tea might be the national beverage of India, but coffee is popular in India as well, especially in the southern parts where coffee beans are grown. Coffee in India is mostly brewed filter style and mixed with hot frothy milk and sugar and referred to as kaapi. Most will use a metal filter similar to those used in Vietnam that produces strong dark coffee that goes perfectly well with milk.

Nannari Sharbat

Both healthy and delicious, Nannari Sharbat is similar to Sarsaparilla that's found all over Southeast Asia. Made from syrup flavored with nannaari root, known for its many health benefits, it's added with lemon juice to make a kind of lemonade-esque drink.