To be completely honest, when I was a kid flavor for me was just ketchup, not the natural flavors of the dish itself. I’m proud to say now though that my palate has expanded and developed. Indian food is a cuisine I have quite recently grown fond of. As a young child, the strong aromatic spices were simply too much for me to handle. But today, Chicken tikka masala is one of my favorite meals ever! I always go to Swad Indian Kitchen in Ambleside (no this article was NOT sponsored by them) The food they offer is always great quality and super tasty! You can tell they’ve put in a lot of work crafting the menu there. Though the price is an area of improvement. Nonetheless, I highly recommend you go check it out and try the chicken tikka masala or the cauliflower 65, both dishes are superb. But going back on track, along with these spicy meals (you choose how spicy you want it) I always have a mango lassi by my side. It truly is the weapon that can extinguish a burning tongue. It has never failed to keep me from losing feeling in my mouth. The traditional drink is so simple but so satisfying. Lassi is so deeply ingrained into Indian culture that in almost every part of India you will find some variation of the drink. The yogurt coats your mouth with a cooling sensation and carries the sweet mango flavor to your taste buds instantly. Think of it like a smoothie or a milkshake. Mango lassi, specifically in the restaurant scene, has a ton of added sugar, making it not such a healthy drink in the long term. This is something you’d drink every now and then. But enough talk, let me open you up to my very own, healthy, mango lassi.
What you need:
A blender
A cup
Ingredients:
1 cup of Frozen mangos (you can use fresh but frozen obviously lasts longer and makes it colder; be sure not to get canned mangos as they have too much sugar!)
1 cup of yogurt (I use balkan style yogurt, but any yogurt should work; also, try using vanilla yogurt for added sweetness)
1 cup of milk
Optional:
1-2 tablespoons of honey (depending on how sweet you want it)
1 teaspoon of vitamin C powder (any kind of supplemental powder will work, perhaps even protein!)
1 teaspoon of cocoa powder (haven’t tried this yet!)
Instructions:
Put all ingredients into a blender
Blend for about 2 minutes or until you get a smoothie/milkshake consistency. Maybe even a little thinner than that
That’s all there is to it! Enjoy your new favorite drink 🙂