Prem Chand Lassi Wale — A Hidden Spot in Amritsar

Amritsar holds a special place in my heart. The city is made up of positivity and pause. If you have a free weekend it would be perfectly spent exploring this century old city housing some of the nicest people you will ever meet. Nothing would be better than spending the night doing community service at Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) and the sleeping it off in the temple complex on hard marble. It brings you this peace that you won’t be able to explain or share with anyone, everyone has to get their own in person. But today’s story is not about the Temple it is about a rustic old Lassi shop I discovered while walking around the oldest market of the city I.e Hall bazaar.

The afternoons in May gets the city to a boiling point, temperatures reach upper fourties and stay there consistently with little to no rain for weeks. on one of such afternoons I decided to explore the oldest Bazaar (Market) of the city. While walking around I stumbled upon Chowk Farid A square named after A Muslim mystic much loved by Muslims, hindus and Sikhs. While I was observing my surroundings, I saw a rustic shop with four huge clay pots and a gentleman sitting inside reading a newspaper. The sign board outside read ‘Prem Chand Lassi Wale’ written in multiple languages. The store gave welcoming and nostalgic feeling which drew me in from the busy street. As I walked in the gentleman’s attention drifted from the newspaper towards me and his face turned a smile, ‘a bit hot today, eh?’ he said setting aside the sheet of paper in his hand. He must have seen my face turned red from the heat and realised I was not used to such warm climate.

‘Can I have a glass of Lassi ?’ I asked as I made my way under the fan trying to get a little comfortable. He got up, and after a few seconds handed me a huge glass of Lassi. It was layered with cream and white butter, so thick you needed a spoon to start your way of eating into it. It was one of the most delicious glass of Lassi I have ever had. as I started devouring my drink he sat down getting back to his newspaper giving me some time to enjoy without having to entertain any conversation.

As I sat down the glass he smiles and told me it was very important to not talk while enjoying a good glass of Lassi. I nodded in agreement and told him this one was without a doubt one of my most memorable meals in Amritsar.

As we conversed on usual things he told me the secret to his Lassi was very simple he didn’t buy the milk from anybody. He had a huge herd of buffalos whose milk he used in making curd and Lassi. Buying milk from random milkmen meant that you will not get the good quality milk consistently, specially in summer when the dairy farmers run into shortage of milk. I observed how passionate he was about the food he made and understood it was the farmer in him talking to me now, not a shopkeeper. He offered me some samples of curd and cream and they were so delicious leaving me craving for more. I left about 10 minutes later thanking the man for his hospitality and taking the time to explain his trade and craft to me, which has become so rare in this fast faces world.

During my time in Amritsar I also tried Lassi from more famous and well known spots in the city, but they were just quick businesses and on one occasion outright rude because I asked them a question about their process. I kept going back to Prem chand’s Lassi shop and enjoying a cold glass of Lassi under a squeaking fan without a hurry in the world.

It gave me such a strange feeling of nostalgia and peace which I failed to explain and still remains one of the highlights of my visit to Amritsar even after all those years. I hope the shop is still in business and the universe is showing the deserved love to it.

This is a guest post by Mark Russell. All the views and opinions are of the respected authors.