Creamy and rich yogurt smoothie with the rich and spicy aroma of mangoes and saffron.

Mango Lassi is a truly royal drink straight from the land of deliciousness 😍. The natural sweetness of the mango blends with the subtle tang of unsweetened natural yogurt to create this extremely delicious and refreshing drink.

Worldwide, Mango Lassi is one of the most popular drinks, found on every menu in Indian restaurants. If you eat out, you shouldn't miss this treat. This mildly sweet Mango Lassi will complement your spicy Indian meal and truly round off your culinary experience.

In India, summer is all about fun holidays, sleepovers with cousins, lots of good food, and of course, mangoes! I grew up with different varieties of mangoes like Payri, Badami, Kesar, Totapuri, and many others. However, nothing came close to Alphonso, which is also known as the king of mangoes. By the way, this mango got its name from a Portuguese general named Afonso de Albuquerque.

We spent our summer afternoons playing outdoors until the sun went down. Tired from playing in the sun, we came home and knew the best was yet to come. Large glasses of fresh, cold Mango Lassi, freshly prepared every day by my mother, were waiting for us. This drink immediately revived us and I could never get enough of it.

What is Lassi actually?

Lassi is a cooling summer drink (but in India we have it all year round), made from unsweetened yogurt and sugar, blended to a frothy, creamy consistency with a blender. Sometimes the simple Lassi is flavored with various ingredients to create interesting variations.

For example, if you add mango pulp to plain Lassi, the result is the super delicious Mango Lassi.

Mango Lassi is one of the easiest drinks you can make at home. It only requires a few ingredients, most of which are basic staples. Ideally, I would love to use fresh Alphonso mangoes to make my Lassi, but it's a seasonal fruit and not easily available outside India.

Here in Germany, unfortunately, good mangoes are not so easy to find. Most of the time we find unripe Brazilian mangoes, which have a longer season and are not as sweet.

So I just experimented a little and found that even the pulp from a can gives a super great result and tastes much better than the Lassi from the supermarket or the Indian place around the corner. The canned pulp has a long shelf life and can be found in all regular supermarkets.

By the way, you can store the unused pulp in an airtight glass container for up to a week.

A simple 3-ingredient Mango Lassi

Mango Lassi is super easy to make. It can be a fun kitchen project to try with your kids. It is undoubtedly one of the tastiest smoothies ever and your kids will love making it. All you need for this delicious drink is mango pulp, unsweetened yogurt, and sugar. Just mix the above ingredients, and off you go ... your delicious Mango Lassi is ready!

I also like to add a pinch of salt and a few saffron threads to my recipe. I like how the flavor is enhanced with these two ingredients.

FAQs

Can you use fresh or frozen mangoes for Mango Lassi?

Absolutely yes. If you run out of mango pulp, you can always use fresh mango or frozen mango pieces to prepare your delicious glass of Mango Lassi. Just make sure you buy a mango that is sweet and fleshy.

How do you make vegan Mango Lassi?

Vegan Mango Lassi is very easy to make by replacing unsweetened dairy yogurt with soy yogurt. You can replace cow's milk with soy milk or almond milk.

Ingredients for 4 people

• 600 g natural yogurt (low-fat works too)
• 250 g mango pulp from about 4 medium-sized ripe mangoes or from a can
• 8 ice cubes
• 3 tbsp sugar
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ tsp saffron
• some milk (to taste)
   

Instructions

Put the pulp with the saffron and sugar in the blender or a food processor. Add the yogurt and ice cubes and blend until smooth. Sweeten to taste with sugar and dilute with a little water or milk.

Pour the Lassi into a jug and place it in the fridge, then garnish the chilled Mango Lassi with a pinch of saffron and enjoy!

Tips

• As a variation, replace saffron with ½ tsp cardamom powder (or finely ground seeds from 6 pods).
• Instead of mangoes, you can also use other fruits such as strawberries, pineapple, apricots, etc. Don't forget to adjust the sweetness accordingly.
• If you want to prepare Mango Lassi for a party, simply put all the ingredients in a large, deep pot and puree them with a hand blender.

I look forward to hearing from you...

...if you like my blog, my recipes inspire you, and your curiosity for Indian cuisine has been awakened.

Feel free to give me feedback if you want to share your cooking successes with me or have a suggestion for improvement. I appreciate every friendly feedback. Whether via the comment function, email, Facebook, or Instagram (preferably tag with #heutemalindisch and @heutemalindisch, then your cooking success can inspire others too).