Mango Lassi - A cool summer drink

There are two types of mango drinks we make in summer – Mango Milkshake and Mango Lassi. Milkshake is made from milk and Lassi is a sweet or savory Indian drink made from yogurt or buttermilk. Mango lassi is one of the most popular sweet beverages in India during summer time. Summer is rampant in Bangalore and mangoes are available in market nowadays.  Naturally the idea of making mango lassi came into mind.

The most important part of making this dish is to get the mangoes that are right for this preparation. We need ripe and sweet mangoes which have a soft pulp for this drinks. When we prepare something with mangoes the name Alphonso comes to mind but it is very costly and the avialbility is very short. What most of us do not know is that Badami is another variety of Alphonso which is as good in taste. Actually the sweetest mangoes in India are Chausa from Himachal Pradesh and Langra from West Bengal.

Quoting from https://sheetaltripathilife.wordpress.com/2014/05/01/types-of-mangoes-in-india/ “I asked one of the vendor of Mangoes which is the most popular variety of  best selling mangoes now days ,He said “Start with the relatively less sweet safeda or surkhi mangoes from south india. Shop for dussehri mango that arrives from UP by May end and feast on Langra and Chausa from June to August. He also said that this is the best time to stock up on raw mangoes for sauces, pickels and chutney ,he said “Even in May or June when ripe mangoes start arriving from Uttar pradesh, langda is by far superior to the Alphonso variety, which sells only for it looks,” he says. He also tells people to experiment with different varieties and even try Malda mangoes from Bengal, totapuri from Bihar and Sindoori or Raspuri from kerala for purees, shakes and ice- creams. I found all this information very useful for all mangoes lovers so i thought to share this information in my blog.”

In Bangalore, Baiganpalli is the widely available mangoes which are reasonably priced. But I followed the vendor’s advice above and tried Sindoori. It is not too sweet but I like the taste and the pulps are soft enough for this recipe. Let’s begin…..

Preparation Time: - 10 min

Cooking Time: - 5 min

Servings: - 2~3 persons

Ingredients:-

1. 1 cup or approx 250 gm of peeled mango or mango pulp. As I explained earlier I used Sindoori type which is right amount of sweet for me. You can choose any sweet mango of your like.
   
2. 1 cup or 250 ml chilled yogurt / Curd (Greek yogurt is thicker – so if you use that you need about 200 ml yogurt and 50 ml water). I used plain curd as its availability is more in India. Some people used equal amount of buttermilk and milk with 2 tbsp of yogurt. This mixture is also perfect and healthier. Some prefer use of low fat yogurt but in my mind that defeats the delicious taste of this preparation.
   
3. 2~3 tbsp of cream or malai (optional). I used this to make the lassi thicker as the Punjabis call it “malai marke”.
4. 3 green cardamom pods or equivalent grounded cardamom/cardamom powder. Some people use rose water but I find the smell of rose water is good in plain lassi but for mango lassi the flavor of mango is sufficient.
5. 5 strands of Saffron
6. 1 tbsp lime juice (optional – for me it adds a little tanginess in the taste). You can avoid it if you want it totally sweet
7. 5~6 ice cubes
8. 2 tbsp Honey
9. 3 tbsp sugar. Now this again depends upon the sweetness of your mango. Some fully ripe mangoes may be too sweet to add any sugar. You may use brown sugar if you like.
10. Few mint leaves for garnish.

Preparation:-

1. Trim the skin of the mangoes, cut the juicy flesh off them, leaving the stone in the middle.
   
2. Crush the cardamom pods in a pestle and mortar and remove the green husks. Strike the seeds hard to make a fine powder and keep aside.
3. Pour the yogurt in the blender and few ice cubes. Blend into a smooth mixture.
4. Pour the mango pulp in it. Add the cream, lemon juice and honey. 
   
5. Blend for half a minute. You can taste the mixture here and determine the amount of sugar needed. As I told you the amount of sugar will depend on the sweetness of the mangoes.
6. Add sugar as needed and blend for another half a minute.
7. Now add saffron, cardamom and remaining ice cubes. Now whiz for 1 minute.
   
8. Check if the mixture is little frothy. If not, blend more.
9. Refrigerate and garnish with mint leaves. You can garnish with dry fruits as well but I prefer mint.
   

Some places in hot Punjab and North India drinks this as a whole meal during summer. But most of us would take it as a refreshing drink in hot weather. You can also serve it as a dessert to cool down after a spicy meal.

As always please feel free to comment, criticize and seek if any help is required. I am all ears.