A cup and a bottle of mango Lassi. 2025
After a typical, tedious, sunny day, I love to cool myself off with an icy treat, preferably an ice cream, smoothie, or fruit drink. Usually, I make these treats myself to consistently enjoy the luxury of chilled beverages at almost no cost. Plus, I enjoy homemade meals because making meals de-stresses me, and it helps me save a lot of money as a graduate student. Of all the drinks I discovered in my Houston cuisine expeditions, the almighty mango lassi stands out the most. Mango lassi is a yogurt-based drink made with mango. It has an Indian origin. Lassi is an Indian word for yogurt mixed with water. Since I first tasted mango lassi in an Indian restaurant called Bombay Sweets Htx, I have never stopped gushing about them. My former Indian flatmate, Mugdha, who is in the Rice MBA program, had taken me there for a treat after prayers at the Indian Sai Durga Shiva Vishnu Temple. If you are a mango and yogurt lover like me, you would love this easy, healthy drink, and not hesitate for a minute to stock up your fridge with this newly-found, incredible addiction! It is not only refreshing, but also nourishing and cost-effective!
So many recipes are available online, but for a very health-conscious person, like myself, I tweaked the recipe to suit my taste buds, and you can do likewise. For example, if you have a sweet tooth, you could adjust the sugar quantity to suit your needs.
Basic Ingredients:
- 5 Fresh Overly Ripe Mangoes
- Yoghurt (Any type, ranging from Greek to Bulgarian, etc.)
- Condensed Milk (optional)
- A dash of ginger, cardamom, or cinnamon (optional)
Directions
- Scoop out the pulp of your already-washed mangoes with a spoon and put it into a bowl.
- Put in a blender and blend to a fine, smooth consistency.
- Add a cup of yogurt to the mixture and blend
- Optionally, add half a cup of the condensed milk to sweeten it.
- Add water or ice cubes and blend to make it more flowy
- Add any of the spices of choice and blend (I always add a dash of powdered ginger)
- Pour yourself a generous amount of some of that sweet and savory goodness and enjoy!
Free Tip:
I understand that yogurt is expensive, and as a lover of yogurt, I found a great way to avoid running out of it. Here is a simple recipe for it.
Basic recipe:
- 1 gallon of milk (Fresh whole milk, skim milk, powdered milk, etc.)
- Already bought yogurt for a yogurt base (Culture- lactobacillus).
Directions
- Bring the liquid milk to a boil in a pot at about 170°Fahrenheit (77°C), stirring at intervals to avoid forming films at the pot's base.
- Allow the milk to cool for about 30 minutes until it is warm (about 117°F or 47°C). This is warm enough to activate the yogurt culture (lactobacillus) and not too hot to kill the bacteria or too cold not to activate the bacteria at all.
- Gently remove the films formed on top of the milk (I heard they are called cream)
- Add one cup of store-bought yogurt (lactobacillus) to the warm pot of milk.
- Cover the mixture with a plastic wrap and put it away in a warm place like an oven that is not switched on.
- Leave it uninterrupted or unattended for 6-12 hours in the oven.
- Check it out afterwards and voila! An entire pot of yogurt has been made!
- Blend and store in the fridge.
- Do not forget to keep one more jar stored away to regenerate more yogurts!
Culture Base:
Well, if you mistakenly run out of your yogurt base and you want to create your own, here is what you can do
Basic Ingredient
- Whole milk
- Lemon, fresh chili pepper, or fresh ginger.
Direction
- Bring two cups of milk to a boil
- Let it cool to a warm temperature
- Slice up a lemon and put it in the warm milk to activate the lactobacillus.
- Cover with a cling film and store unattended in a non-active oven for 6-12 hours.
- A thick consistency is formed; remove the sliced lemons or chili (no need to cut), ginger, or any other activator you used.
- Blend and store the yogurt base in the fridge to form more yogurt!
Conclusion
One of the perks of being in a diverse community like Rice is the ability to make friends across cultures and learn their way of life, including their foods. Mugdha Nanduri has shared (and is still sharing) a series of her Indian cuisine recipes with me, of which yogurt and mango lassi are some of my favorites. Just like me, Mugdha cooked up an entire storm in our former apartment at the Rice Graduate Apartment because we both loved homemade meals for our various dietary needs and to save money, too. For gym buddies, mango lassi is a great way of stacking up your protein needs while satisfying your cravings for something cold and sweet after a tough workout session, and for mango lovers, here you have it! Yet another great way of enjoying a luscious, sweet mango!
About the author:
Osinachi Okafor was born in Aba, Abia State. She hails from Ebenator village, Azigbo town in Nnewi LGA of Anambra State, Nigeria. She is a current Ph.D student in Art History. She got her B.A in Fine and Applied Art at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria in 2017. Read more.
Further Reading:
What is your Favourite Way to Deal with the Summer Heat?