LAHORE: With sleeves rolled up, thick gold chains draped around his neck and a large black turban on his head, Jeera Pehlwan carefully goes about pouring a steady stream of creamy lassi into the main attraction at a roadside stall in Lahore: gold-colored glasses.
Pehalwan sells lassi, a creamy and frothy fermented milk drink blended with water and served always chilled, in the busy Saddar neighborhood in Lahore. The beverage is popularly consumed with large amounts of sugar but some also prefer a salty version of it.
Lassi is arguably Pakistan’s most popular desi beverage. It acquires special significance during the summer as everyone’s favorite heat antidote, or in the holy month of Ramadan, when Muslims abstain from food and drink from dawn till sunset.
Customers await to get golden lassi in Lahore, Pakistan, on February 28, 2026. (AN photo)
However, the 40-year-old doesn’t just offer an ordinary glass of lassi at your everyday roadside stall in Lahore. Customers here drink lassi with an edible gold leaf, layered with khoya (reduced milk solids) in bright gold-colored glasses.
