Here's a good question from reader Kim, who is craving a real mango lassi, made at home!
I love Indian food, and I really love the mango lassis that you can get at Indian restaurants. I have looked up recipes online and even bought cookbooks, but no matter how many recipes I have tried I just can't make a good one! Maybe there is some secret I am missing? Please help, I would love to have a nice mango lassi at home!
Kim, this question is near and dear to my own heart. I was introduced to Indian food via mango lassis, and at the time, I thought they were the best thing I had ever tasted. Ever.
I tried making them at home too, but recipes never panned out. I took to gently interrogating a friend who owned an Indian restaurant, and she said that she used buttermilk and mango puree. I managed to get a passably good mango lassi using these two ingredients.
The primary key, I think, is using the boxed mango puree that you can buy at Asian groceries. Not the nectar or the juice, and definitely not fresh mangos. Fresh mangos (at least the sorts we get in the States) don't have enough flavor, and you have to do an extra step to strain out all the fibers too. The boxed mango puree is much more concentrated and sweet.
Cultured buttermilk, too, will help you get that authentic taste. At least two Indian restaurants have told me that they use buttermilk in their lassis. In India, lassi is traditionally made with yogurt, but I have found that lassis made with all yogurt don't work quite right either.
Hopefully this helps! Here's the final recipe that I use now, after quite a bit of experimenting:
• DIY Mango Lassi - This recipe still calls for ripe mangos, since I was living in Florida when I wrote it and had access to much better mangos there! I would skip them and use twice the amount of mango puree instead.
Good luck!
Related: Summer Cocktail: The Fresh Mango Sweet Escape
(Image: Flickr member Ross Burton licensed for use under Creative Commons)
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Ohhh, you guys have to check out the Virgin letter, which deals with Indian food.
Anywho, here's my recipe, w/ rough measurments:
1/2 c mango puree
1/2 c yogurt (full fat)
1-2 T honey (the puree is sweetened though so I dont need it)
1-2 t rosewater (the KEY)
1/4-1/2 c COLD, icy water (I know, weird... but it makes a difference)
Blend puree, yogurt honey and rosewater together, then add water and blend for a couple seconds. Enjoy!
** I can get pretty good mangos here but telling when they are perfectly ripe is tricky. The mango pulp I buy is in large cans with yellow and black labels and blue writing. You can skip the water if you like, but since I tried it I will never go back. Dont know why but it really makes a difference. The rosewater is the KEY for me, as thats how all the Indian places serve lassis here.
Hope you try it.
I'm with Taratootie42 for the most part in that I use yogurt, not buttermilk. The sweetening should not be necessary, at least with fresh mangos (I've never tried puree). Use mangos that are quite ripe -- they meat should be dark from the sugars and soft. (Buy mangos from your local Indian grocery when they are in season.) Blend in ice to thicken the lassi as desired.
Alphonso mangoes are sweeter than their Mexican counterparts--they were also only recently approved for import to the U.S. and are madly expensive. Try the big yellow cans of alphoso puree--that stuff is really delicious. It also makes a fabulous mango pie with cream cheese and some gelatin in a graham cracker crust!
I'd agree with Ross: use the mango puree for the restaurant flavor. I love mangos--love them!--but I'm allergic to fresh ones. I order mango lassi at almost every Indian restaurant I dine in, and I never get an allergic reaction, which has convinced me that no Indian restaurants (at least not the ones I've dined in) use the pureed mango pulp (Alphonso, sweetened). Also, I think different restaurants use different yogurty type things--either actual yogurt or buttermilk. If you use fresh, soft, homemade yogurt, that'll probably give you the best results. Not too thick, not too thin. Rosewater is part of my favorite mango lassi, too, but just a touch, just enough to complicate the flavor a little. Mmmm.
Oh boy. That's what happens when I get up to get ice cream in the middle of posting a comment. I meant...
1) ...which has convinced me that no Indian restaurants... use fresh mango
&
2) For restaurant mango lassi flavor, use the pureed mango pulp (Alphonso, sweetened).
Mango Lassi is one of the easiest things to make. Unfortunately, I never follow recipes when making my lassis. Here's what I do:
1/2 fresh mango, peeled and cut into wedges (add more than half if you like.
1/2 cup of plain yougurt (buttermilk can be substituted)
1/2 cup of milk (I substitute rice milk instead)
2 tablespoons of honey
Put all the ingredients into a blender and blend. You can add ice into the mixture. Add more yougurt if you like it thicker, or more milk if you like it thinner. That's all. Enjoy.
I love mango lassi. But, in our tiny town mango in any form is not to be found nor is Indian food let alone a grocery. I used to make my own when I could buy the puree. I mixed it with yogurt, and a little sweetener plus a dash of nutmeg. Rose water is a great idea for those not allergic to roses. I do think this is the key ingredient that I was missing before and I shall try to find both it and mangos now.