Original Ice Cream Flavor: Mango Lassi Frozen Yogurt with Pistachio Biscotti Bits
Ice Cream Chef: Amanda
What inspired this recipe? Four years ago, I met my boyfriend, a native of India, in London (where I was studying). When we met, I had never even tasted Indian food, but since then, I've grown to love it and can cook many authentic dishes at home.
Mango lassi has long been one of our favorite Indian beverages, and I thought it would be fun to try and use those ingredients in an ice cream. I put another twist on it--and made it a little cross-cultural!--by incorporating pistachio biscotti into the mix. The end result was even better than I imagined and I'm already looking forward to another batch!
Tastetester comments and full recipe after the jump. Take a look, then vote here!
Tastetester Comments: "It's so delicious, it's a tropical reverie." -Suraj (my boyfriend and taste-tester extraordinaire)
Mango Lassi Frozen Yogurt with Pistachio Biscotti Bits
Makes about 1 quart
2/3 cup half-and-half or heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon saffron (8 to 10 threads)
2 cups strained* or Greek-style whole-milk yogurt
1 cup pureed mango (approximately 2 mangoes, processed until smooth in food processor)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground cardamom
1 teaspoon rosewater, optional
1 tablespoon vodka, optional
1 cup broken pistachio biscotti chunks (store-bought or homemade; see recipe below)
Combine saffron and half-and-half in a microwave-safe bowl and heat for 30 to 45 seconds in the microwave. Set aside for approximately 20 minutes to allow saffron to diffuse in the liquid; the mixture will turn a lovely shade of light yellow.
In the meantime, combine yogurt, mango, sugar, cardamom, rosewater, and vodka in a mixing bowl. Once the half-and-half mixture is ready, add it the yogurt mixture. Chill in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
Once thoroughly chilled, prepare the frozen yogurt as directed by your ice cream maker. When the cycle is complete, fold in the biscotti pieces with a spatula and transfer mixture to a container to freeze for at least 2 to 3 hours.
Serve frozen yogurt with extra pistachios on top and piece of whole biscotti on the side, if desired. (If you have any mango puree left over, this also makes a fabulous topping.)
* To make 2 cups of strained yogurt, place 4 cups of regular whole-milk yogurt in a strainer lined with cheesecloth and place strainer over a bowl. Allow to drain for 4 to 6 hours in refrigerator (overnight is fine too). Discard liquid whey.
Notes on Ingredients:
--Strained or Greek-style yogurt is used in this recipe as it makes for a more rich and creamy final product. Regular whole-milk yogurt may substituted, if necessary, though other liquid ingredients may need to be reduced (try reducing half-and-half to ½ cup and mango puree to 2/3 cup).
--Saffron, rosewater, cardamom, and canned mango (or mango pulp) can be found at most Indian grocers. Look for Alphonso mangoes when choosing canned, as they are the most flavorful. Saffron is typically kept behind the counter, so be sure to ask for it.
--If you can’t find rosewater, substitute 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
--Freshly ground cardamom is preferred in this recipe, as pre-ground cardamom has much less flavor. To grind cardamom, remove the black seeds from the cardamom pod, and grind with a mortar and pestle.
--Vodka makes the yogurt a little softer and therefore more scoop-able, as alcohol does not freeze. You can leave this out (or substitute with another alcohol) if you prefer.
Pistachio Biscotti
Adapted from the blog Baking Bites
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour*
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
pinch freshly grated nutmeg
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup pistachios, roughly chopped
Coarse sugar, for sprinkling (optional)
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with silicone mat or parchment paper.
Whisk together flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat eggs, adding sugar gradually, at medium speed until smooth and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in vanilla extract. Stir in flour mixture by hand, just until combined, followed by pistachios.
Drop wet dough onto the baking sheet to form two rectangular logs (the size is up to you). With well-floured hands, shape the logs so that they are about 1-inch high and slightly dome-shaped on top. (Make sure to leave at least 2 inches of space between the logs, as they spread during baking.) Sprinkle tops of logs with coarse sugar, if desired.
Bake for 20 minutes, rotating pan halfway through. The logs should be light golden in color and spring back slightly when touched with a finger.
Remove from oven and lower oven temperature to 300F. Allow logs to cool for 10 to 15 minutes, or until slightly warm, but not too hot to handle. Slice logs diagonally into ½-inch to 1-inch slices. Lay the slices (on their sides) back on the baking sheet.
Bake for an additional 15 minutes, then flip them and bake for another 15 minutes. If cookies are not firm, depending on how thickly they were sliced, turn again and bake for 10 more minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container (they keep really well in the freezer).
Makes 2 to 3 dozen, depending on how thickly you slice your pieces.
*It’s fine to substitute all purpose flour if you don’t have whole wheat pastry flour.
Contest Information
Go here for the full scoop on the Best Lick! 2008 contest, including prizes, rules, and entry form. Submission closes the evening of August 18th. Get your ice cream maker going!
• The Best Lick! Ice Cream Contest: 2008 Edition
The Entries So Far
Here's a list of all the entries so far. Click the thumbnail to go to the entry.
• Roasted Apricot Ice Cream with Almond Praline Ripple
• Chocolate Gelato with Salted Caramel Pecans
• Coconut Peach Ice Cream with Toasted Almonds
• Cinnamon Raisin Bagel Ice Cream
• Blueberry Brie Tart Ice Cream
• Grape Ice Cream
• Basil Infused Ginger and Cinnamon Ice Cream
• Rosemary-Lime Sparkle Ice Cream
• Mango Lassi Frozen Yogurt with Pistachio Biscotti Bits
(Images: Amanda)
A perfect amalgam of East and West. Get ready to send your taste buds into a true heavenly experience with this refreshing tropical twist.
view kedzone's profile
My vote is for Mango Lassi Frozen Yogurt with Pistachio Biscotti Bits
view man5oj's profile
I love mango lassi drinks and I love ice cream, what could be better than Mango Lassi Frozen Yogurt!
view rwebb515's profile
Its a mouth watering recipe which everyone should try....my family loved it!!
view MGOKHALE76's profile
Um, it's a little obvious that recipe's author is trying to sway the voting by encouraging all her friends to enthuse over her creation, considering that these people have never commented before on this site. Whatevs....
view quark's profile
My vote is for Mango Lassi Frozen Yogurt with Pistachio Biscotti Bits
view rashg10's profile
Quark: I don't believe it's an issue to have friends and family support you...especially when they sincererly believe in your work.
There are other entries here that have been posted by food bloggers, who also have encouraged their readers/supporters to vote for them and their creations (on their blogs). Is that wrong? I think not. If the voter--either stranger or friend--likes what has been created, then the vote is genuine. And in this case, I assure you it is.
view AmandaSW's profile
Yum! Several of the ice cream recipes sound amazing, but this one really catches my tastebuds! Mango lassis are super yummy and I can imagine frozen they would just be awesome!!
view tamberstone's profile
Hi,
I am the boyfriend of the submitter and had the pleasure of tasting the end result of her creative endeavor.
Usually, I subscribe to Mies Van Der Rohe’s creative philosophy of “less is moreâ€. Generally, if something is perfect, leave it alone. An expensive scotch just by itself – perfect. Scotch on the rocks – the chill of the ice has already killed half the flavor. Scotch mixed with anything else – murder plotted by the co-conspirators namely creativity and ignorance!!
Growing up on the west coast of India, my summers were spent polishing off innumerable mangoes of the Alphonso kind. And during those summer evenings, when the tropical sun had retired after mercilessly blistering the earth, and a cool breeze had taking over to comfort those that felt oppressed by the day’s heat, I , along with my family would join hordes of others that were lined up at the neighborhood ice-cream cart and order what else but mango ice-cream. To cut a long story short – mango ice-cream is not only my favorite ice-cream, I consider it close to perfect.
So, when Amanda mentioned to me that she was going to try and make this new ice cream that she had concocted and that it would be a confluence of mango lassi and pistachio biscotti, I was skeptical to say the least! Why tinker around with perfection? Why not mango ice-cream just by itself followed by biscotti? But, its summer, and no ice cream could really be that bad, so I hopped along for the ride. Boy, was I surprised with the result. The alphonso mango flavor came right through taking me back to those summer days and while the pistachio biscotti subtly layered itself on top of the mango taste, it did give the ice-cream some crunchiness and contributed to an interesting texture.
I guess you can have your mango ice cream and eat your pistachio biscotti all at the same time!!
view suraj's profile
I notice that a touch of liquor enhances the licking of many of the recipes. That's great for me - a long time fan of simple Creme de Menthe over Vanilla. But the fruits are the true key to these taste delights, and mango is the fruitiest and tastiest of all. Pistachio takes it over the top. Yum!
view Phidough's profile
YUM! Mango Lassi ,Frozen Yogurt, Pistachio Biscotti ....all my favorites...more than three scoops definitely!
view DeepaMS's profile
I am registered, but the question above is just showing the results, not allowing me to cast my vote (I have not voted before). I would like to vote for this ice cream (two, maybe three scoops!).
view Yellow33's profile
I think I see why--can't vote from the same IP address (computer). That stinks when you have multiple people sharing one computer. Oh well, good luck!
view AmandaSW's profile
Ah I think I see the glitch. Must be unable to vote more than once from the same IP address--which stinks when you have multiple sharing the same computer, all wanting to vote! Oh well, best of luck!
view Yellow33's profile
Its the KING Yes the 'KING of FRUITS' the mango and what other icecream without the king of fruits juss awesome looks good and surely tastes good too. (3 scoops for me please!)
view neeraj's profile
I'd like to hear more comments from people who *actually made* this ice cream... anyone? Also, I'm curious as to whether either the greek or strained yoghurt gives this dessert a grainy mouthfeel at all. This is an issue I have had with homemade frozen youghurt in the past.
view ed51's profile
MGOKHALE76, you must be one super fast chef. maybe you'll share with us your secrets.
view ed51's profile
Great job Chef Amanda! This is a powerful ice cream and I can see by the number of votes you've received that it's quite popular with the reviewers! The recipe was delicious! (And to all of you critics out there or should I say Want-to-Be Chef Ramsey YES I actually made the ice cream) You must have a lot of time on your hands to be calculating the number of hours the recipe has been posted and then comparing it to the hour that a person comments!
Anyway, I am also in the recipe contest (Entry #13 Mint Raspberry with a Chocolate Swirl) and I'm a bit afraid of you as my competition. This is the first recipe that I've tried from the contest and I loved it! When I read the recipe I was excited to see the biscotti pieces. I love biscotti and never thought to add it to my ice cream. With biscotti being so hard when it's not frozen I would've thought that when frozen you might chip a tooth on it. But wow, much to my surprise the pieces softened with the yogurt. Kudos to you for a great recipe!
view GregJ's profile
If you're confused about the username I'm having trouble logging in so I'm using my husband's log in.
view GregJ's profile
Ed51: The use of strained yogurt should help to reduce any "grainy" mouthfeel. I've only ever used this type of yogurt in my frozen yogurt recipes, however (since I like the creaminess it imparts) so I can't really compare it to non-strained versions. For a even more rich and smooth final product, up the heavy cream to 1 cup. I did this on my last batch and it worked wonderfully. (Also, in response to your comment to MGOKHALE--she and her family were some of my taste testers, hence her comment.)
GregJ: Glad you enjoyed the recipe! I'm pumped to hear people like it. It is amazing how much the biscotti softens. In the future, I'm going to make sure all my cookie "add-ins" are thoroughly hard/toothsome so that they don't disappear into the ice cream (This is a great tip I initially learned after using David Lebovitz's oatmeal praline in a cinnamon ice cream recipe. It was rock hard before going on, but perfectly softened in the final ice cream.)
For others interested in trying the recipe, one final note: As home freezers are often much colder than commercial ones, allow the frozen yogurt to thaw for at least 20 minutes before trying to scoop (alternatively, you can thaw it in the microwave for 10 seconds or so). Happy scooping!
view AmandaSW's profile
"I'd like to hear more comments from people who *actually made* this ice cream... anyone? Also, I'm curious as to whether either the greek or strained yoghurt gives this dessert a grainy mouthfeel at all."
I made this this past weekend; I jiggered a little bit for various reasons -- I didn't have cardamom or vodka, so I left those out, I used vanilla instead of rosewater, and I used just plain pistachio nuts instead of pistachio biscotti. I also found I only needed one mango instead of two. And -- this was wonderful.
I didn't notice any graininess at all. The finished product got very hard in my freezer after churning, but I'd chalked that up to not having as much air churned in (my churn was a little warmer than usual, and I had to pack the finished product into the container pretty tightly); Amanda's advice above may prove me wrong.
But -- seriously, it's yogurt and mango and a little sugar. I could seriously have this for BREAKFAST.
view empresscallipygos's profile
I made a version of this yesterday - and YUM!
I made it a sorbet...a bag of TJ's frozen mango chunks, corn syrup and Splenda (an attempt to be slightly healthier). I didn't measure the saffron or cardamom, but the saffron slightly overpowered the cardamom - so beware, those of you who suffer from the same 'eyeball and dump' technique. I did add a splash of vanilla, which I would recommend.
I topped it with TJ's almond biscotti and crushed pistachios.
It really was fantastic - one of my favorites that I've made! My boyfriend was amazed at how much it tasted like a lassi drink!
view mcb23's profile