Chaas - the lightest drink on your table

Masala chaas is thin, tangy and about 120 kcal a glass - far lighter than a sweet lassi. Use low-fat curd and it drops to about 35 kcal, the lightest drink on your table.

12 Jul 2026 · Burnie Academy
chaas buttermilk drinks weight-loss

Most Indian meals come with a glass of chaas on the side. It is thin, tangy, and cools down a spicy thali. Masala chaas adds cumin, mint and black salt - big flavour for a tiny cost. Of all the drinks on the table, it is one of the lightest you can pour.

A glass of masala chaas: about 120 kcal

≈ 120 kcal 100-140

One glass of masala chaas is around 120 kcal. That is mostly water with a little curd, cumin, mint and black salt. In the same glass you get 4.6 g protein and 223 mg calcium. For a drink this tasty, 120 is a small bill.

Assumptions: Tarla Dalal's Masala Chaas recipe (spiced buttermilk: curd, water, mint, coriander, roasted cumin powder, black salt) yields 4 glasses at ~120 kcal per 200 ml glass - 4.6 g protein, 6.54 g fat, 5.4 g carbs, 223 mg calcium. Used as the working baseline because masala chaas is the spiced version the brief asks about.

Sources: Tarla Dalal - Calories for Masala Chaas (Spiced Buttermilk)

How chaas stacks up against other drinks

Masala chaas (1 glass, 200 ml)

Spiced buttermilk - 4.6 g protein, 223 mg calcium.

Sweet lassi (1 glass)

Same curd, but sugar added - over double the calories.

Cola (1 can, 330 ml)

35 g sugar, no protein, no calcium.

Low-fat chaas (1 glass, 200 ml)

Low-fat curd, 0.1 g fat - the true lightest.

Sources: Tarla Dalal - Calories for Masala Chaas (Spiced Buttermilk) · Tarla Dalal - Calories for Sweet Punjabi Lassi (Dahi Ki Lassi) · Open Food Facts - Coca-Cola Original Taste (330 ml can) · Tarla Dalal - Calories for Low Fat Chaas (Indian Low-Fat Buttermilk)

Buttermilk has almost no calories.

it depends

It depends. A glass of regular masala chaas is about 120 kcal - light, but not 'almost none'. Make it with low-fat curd and it falls to about 35 kcal. That low-fat version really is close to calorie-free.

Sources: Tarla Dalal - Calories for Masala Chaas (Spiced Buttermilk) · Tarla Dalal - Calories for Low Fat Chaas (Indian Low-Fat Buttermilk)

Use low-fat curd and drop to about 35 kcal

≈ 35 kcal saves 85 kcal 30-45

Swap full-fat curd for low-fat curd and the same glass falls to about 35 kcal. The spice and tang stay - only the fat leaves. This is the easiest way to make the lightest chaas on the table.

Sources: Tarla Dalal - Calories for Low Fat Chaas (Indian Low-Fat Buttermilk)

Pour a small cup, not a tall glass

≈ 60 kcal saves 60 kcal 50-70

A full glass is 200 ml. A small katori cup is about 100 ml - half the drink, half the calories. A nice way to enjoy the taste with your meal without doubling up.

Assumptions: Halving the 200 ml glass to a 100 ml katori cup halves the 120 kcal baseline to about 60 kcal, taken linearly from the same recipe value.

Sources: Tarla Dalal - Calories for Masala Chaas (Spiced Buttermilk)

Keep your chaas light and honest

Keep it masala, not sweet. The moment you add sugar, chaas becomes lassi - and the calories jump from about 120 to about 286 a glass.
Go easy on the salt. Chaas is salty, and extra salt holds water in your body - that can nudge the scale up even with no fat gain.
Make it at home so you pick the curd fat and the salt. Dhaba chaas can be heavier and saltier than yours.
A small cup before lunch takes the edge off hunger - the water and protein fill you a little before you eat.

Sources: Tarla Dalal - Calories for Sweet Punjabi Lassi (Dahi Ki Lassi) · Merck Manual (Professional) - Water and Sodium Balance

The bottom line

Masala chaas is one of the lightest drinks on an Indian table - about 120 kcal a glass, with protein and calcium most drinks never give you. Use low-fat curd and it falls to about 35 kcal, the true lightest. Keep it spiced, not sweet, go easy on the salt, and chaas beats almost anything else in the glass for weight loss.

35-120 kcal per glass (low-fat vs regular masala chaas); a sweet lassi runs about 286 kcal.