How to use mattha milk in recipes?

How can you use mattha in recipes?

Besides drinking it, mattha (chaas, Indian buttermilk) is a useful cooking liquid. A hospital health page lists these uses: a marinade for chicken, where its lactic acid helps tenderize the meat, a base for yogurt-based curries such as kadhi, and a base for South Indian dishes such as mor kuzhambu and pulissery.

Ways to use it

• Kadhi: a yogurt-based curry.
• Mor kuzhambu and pulissery: South Indian dishes that use buttermilk as a base.
• Marinade: its lactic acid helps tenderize chicken. Marinate in the fridge and cook the meat fully.
• Drink with meals: serve it chilled alongside spicy food.

Tips for cooking with it

1. Use plain mattha, not heavily spiced, so you can control the seasoning.
2. Heat gently and stir often. Dairy can split if boiled hard, especially when it is thin. Many cooks stir flour into curd-based curries to help them hold.
3. Add it near the end for dishes that should stay creamy.
4. Adjust salt after cooking, because the mattha may already be salted.

Make-ahead

If you prepare mattha ahead, keep it covered in the fridge and stir before using. If it smells off, discard it.

What to avoid

• Do not marinate meat at room temperature.
• Do not boil thin curd-based sauces hard.
• Do not swap in sweetened or flavored yogurt drinks.

Substitutes

Plain yogurt thinned with water works as a substitute in most of these dishes. The result can differ in thickness, so adjust the water.

Always follow the specific recipe for quantities.