I was introduced to Mango Lassi five years ago by my friend Seena. She throws an Indian Independence Day party every summer – complete with catered Indian food, dancers, henna tattoo artist, photo booth, bindis for all the women, and everyone required to wear Indian dress. Best. Party. Ever. Beer and wine is abundant, but non-alcoholic Indian drinks are provided too, including Chai tea and my first ever mango lassi experience. At my first taste of this fragrantly sweet and creamy beverage, I was obsessed. As luck would have it, Seena gives everyone a mango as a party favor, but she actually hates mangoes (I know – what the heck!?) so she lets me take all the extras. I looked at the ingredients on the mango lassi bottle, then took those mangoes home and set about to recreate my new favorite drink. This mango lassi Guessipe has become one of my regular faves.
Guessipe
- 2 ripe mangoes, chopped (reserve 1/4 cup diced for garnish)
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt
- 2/3 cup milk
- 2 TBSP honey
- 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/2 tsp rose water (optional)
Put all of the ingredients into a blender. The rose water adds nice fragrance if you’ve got it. Most of the time I don’t have any (I hate having an ingredient I only use for one recipe, especially if it’s an expensive one). The mango lassi still tastes great without it.
Blend until smooth.
Pour into a glass and top with diced mango garnish. I like the little mango chunks when I’m drinking the mango lassi, so I go heavy on the garnish and mix it in before I drink.
