Mango lassi with yoghurt, ripe mango and cardamom

A mango lassi is ripe mango blended with plain yoghurt, a splash of milk or water, a little sugar and a pinch of cardamom, served cold. It is thick, sweet-sour and very refreshing, somewhere between a drink and a smoothie. It takes five minutes, and the only thing that really matters is the mango.

Lassi is an old yoghurt drink from Punjab, a region now split between north-west India and Pakistan. The traditional versions are made by churning yoghurt with water and either sugar or salt, often with a thick layer of cream on top, and they are drunk through the hot months. Mango lassi is a later and very popular variation, made when mangoes are in season and now on the menu of almost every Indian restaurant abroad.

How to make it

1. Peel the mango and cut the flesh away from the stone. Chop roughly.
2. Crush the cardamom pods, take out the small black seeds and grind them finely with a pinch of the sugar.
3. Put the mango, yoghurt, milk, sugar, cardamom and ice in a blender.
4. Blend on high for 30 to 45 seconds, until completely smooth and frothy.
5. Taste. Add more sugar if the mango was sharp, or more milk if it is too thick to pour.
6. Pour into tall glasses and dust with a little extra cardamom.

Tips for the best flavour

• Use the ripest mango you can find. It should smell sweet at the stem end and give slightly when pressed. Honey-sweet varieties with little fibre, such as Alphonso, Kesar or Ataulfo (honey) mangoes, give the smoothest lassi.
• Canned pulp is a good shortcut. Tins of sweetened Alphonso or Kesar mango pulp from Indian grocers make excellent lassi all year round. Reduce or skip the sugar if you use it.
• Use full-fat plain yoghurt. It gives body and a gentle sourness. Low-fat yoghurt makes a thinner, sharper drink. Avoid flavoured yoghurts.
• Grind the cardamom fresh. Pre-ground cardamom loses its scent quickly. A pinch from freshly crushed seeds is enough.
• Chill everything. Cold yoghurt, cold milk and a few ice cubes keep it thick without watering it down.

Mango choices

Variations

• Salted lassi: leave out the mango and sugar, blend yoghurt with water, a pinch of salt and a pinch of toasted ground cumin. This is closer to the everyday lassi of Punjab.
• Sweet plain lassi: yoghurt, a little water, sugar and a few drops of rosewater, blended until frothy.
• Saffron: soak a few saffron threads in a spoon of warm milk for five minutes and blend in.
• Dairy-free: use a thick plain soy or coconut yoghurt and oat milk. It will be less tangy, so add a squeeze of lime.
• Lassi bowl: make it thicker with frozen mango and spoon it over chia pudding.

Make ahead and storage

Mango lassi is best fresh, but it keeps in a closed jar in the fridge for up to a day. It separates slightly, so stir or shake before serving. You can also freeze it in ice-lolly moulds for a cold treat; it sets into something close to a mango kulfi.

Questions people ask

Do I need a powerful blender?

No. Mango and yoghurt are soft, so any jug blender or stick blender will make a smooth lassi. If you want one that also handles frozen fruit and ice well, our guide to blenders for smoothies explains what to look for.

Is mango lassi healthy?

It is a nourishing drink rather than a light one. Yoghurt brings protein and calcium, and mango brings vitamin C and some fibre. Live yoghurt also contains bacteria cultures; our guide to fermented foods looks at what the research does and does not show about them. A glass also contains a fair amount of natural and added sugar, so treat it as a snack or a dessert.

What is the difference between lassi and a smoothie?

Lassi is yoghurt-based and traditionally thinned with water or milk, then lightly spiced. A smoothie is usually fruit-based, often with juice, and rarely spiced. A mango lassi sits in between.

For a warm, spiced drink from the same part of the world, try our stove-top masala chai.

Photograph: AI-generated image

Filed under mango, yoghurt, lassi, summer.