Flavor of the Month: Mango Lassi

This has been one of the best yogurt recipes I've tried so far. I just love that it takes buying a large tub of Costco yogurt to inspire me to make new and delicious things. I first heard about mango lassi from a show on Food Network where chefs do food related scavenger hunts and challenges around a city. One challenge was to eat the spiciest Indian food with only one glass of mango lassi to cool down. This was a few years ago and mango lassi has lingered in my mind since.

Mango lassi is an Indian mango/yogurt smoothie. It's very simple to make and not at all what you would expect from Indian cuisine.You can just eyeball these proportions or change them to taste.

Half cup ripe mango

 Half cup plain yogurt

1/4 cup or less of sugar (depending on taste)

4-5 cubes of ice

I like the smoothie thicker so I put less ice. The recipe above makes one glass. One mango yields 2 glasses. Blend everything together in a blender. I'm also convinced that flavored yogurt will work but then it would be something other than mango lassi. Sometimes there are spices in this smoothie too but I'm not so daring, although cardamon sounds interesting.

Like how I tried to get fancy with the garnish? That mango skin curl didn't turn out too attractive and the mango cubes sunk to the bottom. Oh well, it was super delicious and refreshing. These went so well with dinner and even better after a run the next morning. Unlike juice and fruit based smoothies, the yogurt smoothie does not separate into unappealing strata of ingredients the next day. However, for those who want thinner, slushier smoothies like Jamba Juice, frozen fruit, juice, and ice cream are the way to go. I am now a converted yogurt smoothie fan.

 The rest of dinner comprised of egg noodles with chives, made in the same manner as the egg noodles with yellow chive. I substituted the soy sauce with a yakisoba sauce (oyster + soy + sake).

 Green beans and beef. Beef was marinated with oyster sauce, sesame oil, sugar, splash of soy sauce, and corn starch for thickening. Beans were blanched before sauteed, then beef was tossed in, turn off heat, add a squeeze of hoisin sauce, garnish with fried garlic bits. Yums.

Cheers to weekend dinners!