Mango Lassi

Contributor: Madhu Gosh
Photographer: Madhu Gosh

The mango lassi actually is a modification of the standard lassi one would have at a roadside stall along an Indian highway. When I came to America, yogurt was from a commercial container, solid, bland and devoid of any probiotics. Organic foods were few and far between and extremely expensive.

As the years went by, I realized that there are many ways to get the probiotics, or live cultures from other fermented foods that help nurture our gut bacteria. Kefir, was one of them. I chose to use kefir, in particular goat milk kefir instead of regular organic yogurt to incorporate the lactobacillus probiotics but also to include the lower cholesterol and increased protein content of goat milk.

Now in India we were told there are about 500 types of mangoes so you can imagine, we cook a lot with mangoes! But coming to America, the one closest to the Indian mango lassi is from the Dasehri type of mango. The closest to Dasehri in San Diego is the Ataulfo mango from Mexico and the southern Latin countries. Mixing it with brown sugar instead of regular refined sugar gets more minerals into a refreshing fermented drink.

Mango Lassi

Ingredients

1 cup mango pulp
1/2 cup sugar (granulated, brown organic) 3-4 cardamom, crushed
1 cup goat kefir
1 cup water
2-3 strands saffron
Ice, 1-2 cups

Directions

In a blender:
Add the pulp, followed by kefir, and sugar
Add the saffron and cardamom
Add ice, 1-2 cups
Blend on high speed, 1-2 minutes
Add water as needed
Add more sugar if you want to increase the sweetness

Serve with 2-3 strands saffron in a chilled glass (Optional: Add more ice cubes as needed)