Lassi drinks are my all-time favorites. It is a popular summer drink from the Indian subcontinent. The recipe I am sharing is a sweet lassi recipe, which is combined with almonds, mangoes and curd/yogurt.
A well prepared lassi is rich, smooth, creamy, thick and hearty with pouring consistency. That is why this almond-mango lassi is my favorite. It has all the above mentioned characteristics and what’s more, it is perfectly flavored with cardamom pods.
What is Lassi?
Lassi is basically a curd/yogurt based summer drink, blended with spices and sometimes fruits. This amazing curd/yogurt based drink can be made sweet or salty in thick pouring consistency.
Blending curd with some milk and salt (sometimes spices) will give you the salty version of lassi. Sweet lassi can made just by substituting salt with sugar or other sweeteners. Adding fruits to the sweet lassi will give extra flavor and feeling to our drink. That is why mango lassi has become famous all over the world. It has a refined taste from the juicy, sweet mangoes and has a smooth, buttery texture from the yogurt.
You may find a variety of mango lassi recipes, yet the one I am sharing has an additional add-in, that is blanched almonds. It gives more rich and creamy texture to the lassi. So this lassi can become a refreshing summer drink, and at the same time it can become a fine, filling smoothie.
What to Use in Almond Mango Lassi?
The main ingredients are almonds, mangoes and curd / dahi / yogurt.
- Almonds:
In this recipe of Almond Mango Lassi, I used raw almonds and blanched it in warm water for 15 minutes to remove the skin ( also, to get them soaked ).
Is it really necessary to blanch the almonds? Well, It’s an optional step. I personally prefer blanched or soaked almonds. Soaked almonds helps to improve the texture and flavor. Once soaked they become soft, which makes them easier to grind. Soaking makes them healthier (contains good source of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants), and easier to digest.
- Mango:
For the best tasting mango lassi, we must add good quality mangoes. Always try to use fresh, ripe, less fibrous, sweet mangoes as they are naturally flavored. Alphonso mangoes are considered one of the best kinds to make lassi.
Mangoes are seasonal fruit. If you find it hard to get fresh mangoes, you can use frozen/ canned mangoes. Mango pulp or puree is also an option.
If using mango pulp, add 2 cups of pulp/puree for this recipe. Add 1 more cup of pulp if you are looking for a rich mango flavor.
Sometimes canned mango pulp are artificially sweetened. You may need to adjust the sweetness and flavors in the recipe accordingly.
If the mango or mango pulp has acidic taste, add 1/4 or 1/2 more cup of milk or cream. Adding cream gives more buttery texture to the lassi. You can even use dried milk or milk powder, which adds a distinct taste to your lassi.
- Curd / Dahi:
Curd / Dahi is the key ingredient in lassi. Every Indian household has dahi/ curd in their refrigerator. It can be easily prepared at home. You can enjoy lassi, simply by blending the freshly home-made dahi with some sugar or salt.
Dahi / curd is available in most of the Indian grocery stores.
You can use plain greek yogurt in your lassi. But curd/ dahi is not yogurt.
Things to be aware of before using Yogurt:
- Curd is made by curdling the milk, which we can do at home, whereas yogurt is a commercially fermented product.
- Curd has whey in it. Greek yogurt is thick and generally prepared after straining out the whey. If you are using yogurt to make lassi, add 1 1/2 cup of yogurt in this recipe. Adjust the consistency by adding some more milk or water or else you will end up in thick, hard to pour lassi.
- Curd is not flavored. But, flavored and unflavored yogurts are available in markets. For lassi, we use plain yogurts (unflavored, plain greek yogurts are best to use).
- Spices:
Adding spices will boost the flavor of lassi. I have used Cardamom / Elachi pods in this recipe. I have removed the outer skin of cardamom pods and add the seeds to the jar while blending. If you have ground cardamom, add 1/2 tsp to get the spice kick.
Saffron strands and / or rose water are other flavoring add-in options for sweet lassi.
- Sweetener:
Sugar is the common sweetener add in lassi. Other sweetener alternatives are jaggery (powdered or syrup), honey, pure maple syrup. I personally like the flavor of jaggery in lassis.
How to Make Almond Mango Lassi?
Soak the raw almonds in warm water for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the skin is removed easily.
Prepare soaked almonds by removing the skin. Grind this to a paste by adding 1/4 cup milk in a grinder/ blender jar.
Add the mango pieces and grind until smooth.
Add curd/ yogurt, milk / water / cream (if necessary), sugar and cardamom seeds.
Blend on high for a minute. Do not over blend. Test the taste. If the lassi is sour add more milk or cream.
If you are looking for a bright yellow color (restaurant look) lassi, add 2 drops of yellow food color while blending the lassi.
Serve chilled by garnishing with few saffron strands (optional), chopped nuts (almonds, pistachios or cashews), and/ or cream.
How to Serve Almond Mango Lassi?
Almond Mango Lassi has to be serve chilled. We can chill the lassi in the fridge after blending. Other method is to use frozen / chilled mangoes. Blending with chilled milk and/ or curd gives the same result. If you have no time to chill, add few ice cubes in to the lassi while serving.
Garnish the chilled almond mango lassi with saffron strands and chopped nuts. You can also serve this almond mango lassi with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and diced mangoes on top.
Can We Store Almond Mango Lassi?
Almond mango lassi or any lassi tastes best when it is freshly made. I always make it fresh before serving. This lassi can be refrigerated for up to a day.
To make this Almond Mango Lassi lactose/ dairy free, use lactose free yogurt (like almond milk yogurt), nut milk or yogurt whey.
Try this Recipe and let me know in the comment. Don’t forget to leave a rating to this recipe.
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ALMOND MANGO LASSI
Equipment
- 1 Blender/ Mixer Grinder
- 1 Knife
- 4 Serving Glass
- 1 Mixing bowl small
Ingredients
- ¼ cup Almonds
- Warm Water enough to soak the almonds
- ½ cup Milk
- 2 cups Ripe Mango (diced into small cubes)
- 2 cups Curd/ Plain Dahi (if using yogurt, 1 ½ cup)
- ¼ cup Sugar
- 2 pods Cardamom Pods (add the seeds)
- Saffron Strands a pinch, to garnish (optional)
- 1 tsp Chopped almonds to garnish
Instructions
- Take 1/4 cup raw almonds in a bowl and soak it in warm water for 15 to 20 minutes. ( Refer Note: 1 )
- Remove the skin from almonds and add it to a blender/mixer jar.
- Pour 1/4 cup milk to the jar with blanched almonds and grind it to a fine paste.
- Add the diced mangoes in to the jar and blend again to make a puree. ( Refer Note: 2 & 3 )
- Once it is ready, add in the remaining ingredients ( 1/4 cup milk, 2 cups of curd/dahi, seeds from 2 cardamom pods and sugar) and blend on high for a minute. Over blending may alter the texture of lassi. ( Refer Note: 4 )
- Garnish with saffron strands and chopped almonds and serve chilled. ( Refer Note: 5 )
Video
Notes
- If you are using blanched almonds, skip the first two steps.
- Some mixer/blender jar leave chunks or pieces of almonds and mango when we grind them together (mine does). You can blend all the ingredients together if you are using a heavy duty blender/ mixer grinder.
- Use sweet, ripe mangoes. Frozen mango pieces or Mango puree/ pulp can also be used. Some store bought mango pulp have add in sugar. So be mindful while adding extra sugar or sweeteners while making lassi.
- For thin consistency, add 1/2 more cup of milk or cream or water while blending.
- To serve chilled Mango Lassi: Chill or freeze the mango pieces and/ or chill the milk / chill the mango lassi after blending / add ice cubes.
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