DELICIOUS MANGO LASSI

Minnesota likes to be cool,cold and coldest for the most part of the year.After living here for almost 5 years, I have now begun to understand the hype of Summer around this part of the globe. Everyone just waits for it to be warm.And that doesn't last for more than a few weeks here.By then it's Fall already!Then the days fly by till January and after that, nothing moves or changes for the next few months. That's the season I am not looking forward to!

For me, Summer should make you feel warm and not hot and sweaty. I don't like hot days. I always tell Jobin, that, there's a smell in the air which reminds me of Summer always. I think it's the humidity and the heat from the roads which produces that smell. It also means, I get to smell the wafting aromas of everything that's cooking on our neighbourhood grills. It's such an awesome smell of seared meat and roasted veggies. Yum! That's the summer I like.

This is that time of the year when you get to go to the Farmers Market and enjoy the beautiful produce & flowers that's grown locally.It really is a beautiful sight! This is the time when Lemonade stands pop up here and there, with variety of flavours. I love a good Lemonade. But, I also love a good,very cold Lassi. Amma is the biggest fan of Lassi in our house. She just simply adores that cold concoction of thick yogurt and sugar.

We don't get a decent Lassi anywhere in Kerala, from our personal experiences. It's always a sour thing. A good lassi is not sour. It's just the plain goodness of freshly set yogurt and not the ones that's been lying around in the fridge for days! We always look forward to our trips to Karnataka & Tamil Nadu and then gulp down our share of Sweet Lassi. It was not until we moved to Minnesota that I got a chance to taste a Mango Lassi.

It was about 4 1/2 years ago when we both, right after moving to this town,went to buy Chicken Biriyani from a store which was a good 10 miles away from where we lived. While I waited in the car, Jobin brought me a plastic container filled with Mango Lassi. I was a bit hesitant to try it, even though I love Mangoes. Boy! I was so wrong! It was one of the most delicious drinks I've had so far. It was sweet, thick, cold and delicious down to the last drop. I don't know how they made it there but here's how I make it at home.

DELICIOUS MANGO LASSI
My own recipe
Serves 3-4

Ingredients:
1 cup thick whole milk yogurt
Scant 1 cup tinned sweetened mango pulp (or to taste)
1/4 cup whole milk
3 ice cubes
a pinch of ground cardamom (optional)


Method: Blend everything together until the ice blends in with the lassi.Serve cold garnished with a sprig of mint.

I bet you all knew how to make it already, right? This is hardly a recipe. A few things are thrown into the blender and that's it! All 3 of us love this,especially Ian. The first time he tasted this was when he was around 8 months.You will not believe if I told you the fuss he made when that got over! We ordered another one for him, which he gulped down happily, only half way though. He loves yogurt so it was not a surprise to me!