Make mango lassi just like at your favourite Indian restaurant-yes! This mango lassi has the perfect balance of sweet and tangy and mango and yogurt thanks to a couple of simple tweaks. You will swoon over this summery treat using fresh mangoes. This is a pushy recipe Dear Reader.
A lassi (pronounced luh-see) is often called an "ancient smoothie" and was first seen in the Punjab and Maltan region of India and Eastern Pakistan around 1000BC. A lassi has Ayurvedic healing properties and is said to cool the body and create a sense of calm in the mind and in the stomach through the probiotics in the yogurt. While it has numerous beneficial properties some say that the best time to drink lassi is during a hot, scorching day and not at night when your digestion is at its best. But seriously try telling that to my favourite lassi addict (Mr NQN).
I made about 20 batches of mango lassi over these summer holidays before I finally arrived at this one that I am very proud of. Every time I'd give Mr NQN a glass of it and he'd say if it was sweet or tart enough and give me feedback on the texture. While all of them were undoubtedly tasty (you can't go wrong with mangoes and yogurt) we were looking for the best restaurant quality mango lassi. Sometimes I find them very thick or too rich for me but a really great lassi is one when you can't stop drinking it and it quenches your thirst but doesn't feel like overwhelming.
My tip for making the best mango lassi: there are two little ingredients that you can add to your mango lassi to give it that extra flavour and they are...lemon juice and a pinch of salt!
Adding more yogurt makes the lassi too thick and while that's great if that's all you're drinking, as part of an Indian meal it can be too filling and rich. But not adding enough yogurt doesn't give it that lassi flavour. So just a few teaspoons of lemon juice for that signature tangyness and salt to bring out the sweetness of the mango is all that you need!
While a freshly made mango lassi is the best way to have it, Mango lassi can actually last for a day or two in the fridge so you can make a huge batch of this and enjoy it over the space of a few days.
I try and eat healthily as much as possible (I am forever trying to balance my love of butter and carbs with lots of vegetables and summer fruit). This year was an amazing summer for mangoes and every week we've bought huge, juicy specimens to make mango sticky rice (have you tried it yet? You must!) and mango lassi. I make a big jug of this mango lassi every 3 days and we have it with breakfast or lunch.
I was also cognisant of eating well as I was about to have my blood test which should be an annual thing but I forgot to do it last year. You have to fast for 8 hours prior and I asked Mr NQN to drive me because the only Saturday testing lab was in an area with busy traffic and not a lot of parking. He would just wait in the car for me.
There were three people before me but then it came to be my turn. The woman taking the tests took out some vials to collect blood and then a urine specimen jar. "For the urine test," she explained, sensing my confusion. She was a no nonsense sort of lady and I was slightly worried because there was no mention of a urine test and I had just peed before we left.
She took the blood and then handed me the specimen jar with strict instructions to fill it up halfway. I went to the bathroom and could only fill it a quarter of the way. I went back to her and she was already onto the next patient. I showed her my paltry offering, "Could I have some water please?" I asked. She gave me a tiny cup of water and instructed me to go into the waiting room to wait. After 5 minutes I tried again. Nothing. I went back to get another cup of water (it might help if the water cups were bigger haha) and repeated this another couple of times to no avail.
Then inspiration struck me. I rushed to the bathroom and looked for a video that would play the sound of water trickling. And you know how they say there's a youtube video for everything? There really is and there were a few that were designed to help you in this very situation! That helped although I was 2ml short but this woman was not about to quibble about that. And of course half an hour later while I was walking the dogs I was busting to go!
So tell me Dear Reader, do you do annual health tests? Do you like mango lassis? Have you had a lot of mangoes this past summer?
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