Mango Lassi, an all time Indian favorite summer drink is a creamy, thick, refreshing and delicious variation of lassi. Make this easy Mango Lassi recipe in less than 15 minutes with ripe mangoes, yogurt and your choice of flavorings - cardamom, saffron or rose water.
In a blender or mixer, puree the mangoes with sugar or honey, cardamom powder or saffron or rose water.
Make a smooth puree without any finer chunks of mangoes in it.
Add Curd (Yogurt)
Add the chilled curd (yogurt) and light cream. Adding light cream is optional
Add ice cubes. This is also optional.
Blend
Blend until all the ingredients are mixed well, evenly and the yogurt has become smooth.
if you prefer a slightly thin consistency add some milk or water while blending. Taste mango lassi and add a few teaspoons of sugar if it tastes slightly tangy or sour. Blend again.
Pour in glasses and serve straightaway.
Serving Suggestions
Enjoy Mango Lassi as is or choose to top or garnish with herbs or nuts. For herbs, mint leaves are the best flavor pairing with both mangoes and yogurt. You can top the lassi with some chopped mango cubes.
Top with almond slivers, pistachio slivers or chopped cashews to add some crunch in your lassi.
Chocolate shavings or grated chocolate also make for a great topping option.
A topping of lightly sweetened whipped cream also tastes good.
Storage
If you make a large batch of this recipe, store any leftovers in your refrigerator. It keeps well for 1 to 2 days in the refrigerator.
You can choose to freeze the mango lassi in ice trays or popsicle moulds to be enjoyed later as a frozen mango-yogurt dessert.
Notes
Mangoes: Make use mangoes that are in season, fresh, ripe and sweet. You can use any variety of mangoes, but they should be pulpy, juicy, fleshy and have a sweet taste. Avoid using mangoes that are fibrous or stringy. If the mangoes are more sweet, then you need to add less sweeteners.Yogurt: Full-fat or whole milk yogurt give a creamy consistency in mango lassi recipe. For low-fat options, make the lassi with skimmed milk yogurt or low fat yogurt. Packaged curd also works well. But make sure that your curd or yogurt is not too sour or tangy. Greek yogurt is another option to try this lassi with. Add some water or milk to thin the consistency a bit if using greek yogurt. Sweeteners: Sugar is the preferred sweetener in any lassi drink. But there are better alternatives and you could add them in your mango lassi recipe. Sweeteners like coconut sugar, palm sugar, jaggery, raw unrefined sugar, maple syrup and honey are some nice options.Flavorings: You can choose to mango lassi simply without any added flavorings. Though to make your drink a little more special and to elevate the mango flavors, a light touch of these flavorings does wonders. Some great flavoring ideas are: a few pinches of ground cinnamon, ½ to 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 tablespoon rose water and a dash of nutmeg.Canned Pulp: Make the lassi with canned mango pulp if fresh mangoes are not in season. I freeze mango pulp and make various goodies with it. You will need to adjust the amount of sweetener if using canned pulp, as many of them are loaded with sugar. Include about 1 to 1.25 cups of mango pulp in this recipe.Vegan Options: Use almond yogurt, cashew yogurt or coconut milk yogurt to make a vegan mango lassi.Scaling: Make a large batch of this recipe by increasing the ingredients proportionately.