Mango lassi is synonymous with Indian restaurants all over the US and probably UK. I don’t remember drinking a whole lot of it in India for some reason (we used to drink the savory version with just yougut, water, salt and cumin)… I do recall drinking a lot of mango milkshakes though! Back then we used to make milkshakes with only milk- no ice cream.  So, when we moved to the States, I was very surprised to see shakes made out of ice cream- still am not use to the idea!

I digress- mango lassi is extremely popular in restaurants- it definitely helps cool the palate down. What I don’t like about the lassi served outside is that it can be quite heavy and unhealthy- most of it is made with heavy cream or even ice cream- not what a typical lassi should be. It is supposed to be a very refreshing drink to cool one down in the summer heat. The yogurt also helps with digestion. I used non-fat greek yogurt in this recipe- it is extremely creamy without all the fat. I also used less sugar than normal- the pulp already has added sugar and the drink doesn’t really need too much of it- I feel it takes the mango flavor away if it’s too sweet.  I decided to add cardamom seeds to the lassi. Cardamom has a very aromatic and delicate aroma and gives the lassi an additional layer of flavor. The mango flavor dominates the drink but the cardamom aroma comes through in a subtle but a very clear way.

I was teaching an Indian cooking class and it was one of those beautiful spring afternoons.  I decided to make the lassi as an introduction to the Indian food we were preparing. It was a nice cool refreshing drink to enjoy while we cooked and chatted!

• 1 cup non-fat greek yogurt
• 1 cup 1% milk
• 1½ cups mango pulp or 3 fresh mangoes, stoned and sliced
• 4 teaspoons turbinado sugar
• 4 cardamom pods, crushed and the green skin taken off

Put all the ingredients into a blender and blend for 2 minutes. Pour into a pitcher and refrigerate for at least an hour. Serve with ice cubes to thin the lassi out a bit. Makes about 4 glasses.