Homemade Mango Lassi- mango smoothie

Mango Lassi- Indian summer drink recipe with fresh mangoes or mango pulp and a touch of cardamom.

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• 🧾Ingredients
• 🥭Mango
• Mango Lassi with Mango Pulp
• 📋How do I make Mango Lassi
• Dairy Free, Vegan Mango Lassi
• Storing & Freezing
• Follow me on Social
• Mango Lassi
• Ingredients 1x2x3x
• Instructions
• Notes
• 🥛Varieties of Lassi

This is a drink we grew up having every summer. In fact, my mom grew up on it, her mom grew up on it. We drank it every time we stepped out of the house in summer. It probably runs in our blood. You get the drift.

Mango milkshakes and lassis are a mandatory part of Indian summers. This is my mother's recipe ,and I haven't dared to change it in the last 15 years I have been cooking in my own kitchen. Being from Delhi, I have to say we take our yogurt drinks quite seriously.

I want to say this is an authentic mango lassi recipe but I don't think i can because every household in northern India has a slightly different recipe. For me, this is the recipe my family has been following for decades.

Quite simply, it is an Indian mango smoothie that has yogurt, mangoes, and sugar. It is a cold, sweet, and slightly tangy yogurt-based drink, kind of like a smoothie.

There are two ways to make this - My mother's recipe with fresh Indian mangoes, and second, if it's off-season or you are out of India, with mango pulp.

🧾Ingredients

Here is what we will need

• Mangoes
• Yogurt
• Milk or Cream
• Sugar
• Optionally - Cardamom, Rose water or Kesar
• Garnish- Slivered Almonds, Pistachios, Rose petals

🥭Mango

To make the best lassi, you need a ripe, yellow, almost saffron looking mangoes. When you press it with a finger, the mango should cave, almost like a ripe avocado.

In India, there are more than 1500 varieties of mangoes. My mother always used mallika or alphonso mangoes. Though my aunt swore by the mangoes she grew in her own backyard.

You can use any ripe, sweet mangoes. But remember that not all mangoes are same. The taste and texture differ considerably. Some mangoes are extremely fibrous and would need more time in the blender.

If you are outside India, use canned mango pulp or Indian mangoes from an Indian grocery store for the authentic taste. Most Indian restaurants use canned pulp instead of the real thing because the taste and texture is reliable and repeatable.

You will probably be able to find Mexican mangoes like champagne, red mangoes, or Thai mangoes. If you make this lassi with mangoes from any other region(not Indian), I recommend adding mango pulp too.

Mango pulp is available in Indian groceries or on amazon very easily. I recommend Rani Kesar mango pulp or Swad Alphonso mango Pulp. If you are in India, Urban Platter has a nice preservative free version.

Yogurt

For best results, use plain, full-fat yogurt made with whole milk. For the love of all things delicious, do not use runny or sour tasting curd. Use either thick, set yogurt or Greek yogurt.
You need fresh yogurt which hasn't been fermented for too long. It should have just a slight tang.

Cream

Is the cream needed? Well..No..It's not..But..
It adds a delicious creaminess to the lassi that is , quite frankly, unachievable without this ingredient.
There is a reason why I use cream. In certain parts of old delhi, you get the most amazing lassi in the hot summer days. They use Full-Fat(and then some) cow's milk to make a thick yogurt which has almost half a centimeter of malai ( the most delicious layer of milk fat/butter) on top.

To make our mango lassi as decadent as the one in old Delhi, we add cream!

Sugar

Usually, mangoes are pretty sweet by themselves. Depending on how you like the sweet level, you can opt to add or not any sweetner.
White Caster sugar is my go-to, while making lassis. Simply because it doesn't alter the flavors plus, it gets mixed in quite fast. So you don't have any sugar crystals spoiling the texture of your creamy lassi.

Other ingredients

These are good to have but not must- have ingredients.

Cardamom Powder- Green cardamom powder or elaichi powder is so good in a sweet lassi! If I am serving the lassi to guests, I would definitely add it!

According to my mom, this isn't an optional ingredient but a mandatory one.
If you can get the elaichi essence, it will be easier, it mixes in without adding any fiber and bits.
If not, You can pound the black seeds inside the elaichi in a motor pestle and add to the lassi.

Rose Petals-Dried rose petals or even fresh rose petals add a nice finishing touch to the lassi. I love the way it looks!

Crushed Pistachios-Crushed, bright green pistachios are another great garnish to the lassi. They add a gorgeous contrasting color which makes your drink pop!

Mango Lassi with Mango Pulp

If you cannot find a ripe mangoes, you can use either frozen mangoes or canned mango pulp.

Mango that's been frozen during the summer season, at it's peak, is a great option ,in case fresh mango is not available or you are making the lassi during any other season.

Mango Pulp is also a great option.

Infact, my aunt always pureed and froze the mangoes so she could enjoy a mango shake or lassi even during winters.

If you are using not so ripe, not so sweet, average mango, then use more of the pulp to compensate for the lack- lusture mango.

If you have a gorgeous, in-season, sweet, yellow juicy mango, go ahead and reduce or omit the mango pulp all together.

📋How do I make Mango Lassi

Here is the simple part.

🍽Equipment

You will need a blender for this. Any regular blender will do. Especially, if you are not using cubed ice while blending.

Step 1: Cut the Mango

This is my usual way of cutting a mango.

Slice it along the seed, make crisscross cuts, and scoop it out using a spoon. (Oh and enjoy licking, sucking, biting the seed clean cause as a cook you have certain privileges..lol)

You can also just scoop the flesh out using a spoon.(You can see this in the video)

Step 2: Add the Mango to the Blender

When blending, it's always better to layer. Add the mangoes first because they need the most amount of work.

Add rest of the ingredients - yogurt, milk(or cream), sugar, cardamom powder or crushed cardamom seeds and 2-3 ice cubes on top.

Step 3: Blend & Adjust

Close and blend.
Adjust the thickness of the lassi as per your preference. I like it to be in the thick but pourable territory.
You can add more milk or cold water or a few more ice cubes to the lassi to adjust the thickness.

Step 4: Serve

Garnish the lassi with a single mint leaf or slivers of almond or pistachio on top. I love adding a few crushed leaves of dried rose petals too.
It just looks so gorgeous! Serve it cold.
Enjoy the best mango lassi !!
For serving glasses, you can either use tall ice tea glasses or traditional steel glasses.

Dairy Free, Vegan Mango Lassi

You can make dairy-free Lassi by substituting Dairy Yogurt with plant based yogurt such as Nut or soy based yogurts.
I love making it with pistachio yogurt! It just compliments the mango so well!

Storing & Freezing

Mango lassi will last for 2-3 days in the refrigerator and just about a day on the counter at 25 C or 80 F temperature.
It will separate into water and milk solids after a couple of hours. Just give it a mix and you are good to go!

If you are want to enjoy mango yogurt everyday, you could peel, dice the mangoes and freeze it in ice cubes.
That way you can have Chilled mango lassi to slurp on within a couple of minutes!

If you make this delicious Indian Summer mango drink, do leave me a comment or a rating. I would love to hear from you!

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🥛Varieties of Lassi

Lassi is a very everyday part of the Indian household, and there are many different types of lassi. It is quite a traditional Indian drink.

The most popular being

• Salty Lassi or Seet - with Roasted Cumin, dried Mint leaves, and Black Salt.
• Rose Lassi - With Rose Syrup and Gulkand
• Plain Lassi - with just sugar
• South Indian Butter Milk - with Curry leaves & Ginger
• Sweet Lassi- There are a lot of flavors of sweet lassi - like Paan flavored lassi and Kesar Lassi.