Mango Lassi

Cheap Eat Challenge: Watch as our family of 6 eats on $6/day.

(Somebody's got to learn to take a good picture of a drink. I blame my glasses. And my sloppy pouring skills. )

Kip and I were in the yard from about 9:30 until dinnertime. I wouldn't have it any other way, but by the time five o'clock rolled around, we were ready for something tall and cool. (We were also ready to pork out on some pizza.)

Every time I go to an Indian restaurant, I sit there envying these pretty drinks and sipping my water. And then last year my good friend bought me an Indian cookbook. And there was that pretty little picture of that pretty little mango lassi next to a very short recipe. A recipe that was, in fact, so obscenely easy and with so little added sugar that I was sure it wouldn't work. But work it did.

The only thing that makes it better is that even when you figure in the fairly high cost of mangos, you still get a whole blenderful of lassi for nearly half the cost of a glass at a restaurant.

Mango Lassi
adapted from Perfect Indian
Makes 5 cups
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cost: $1.94
(mango: .89, yogurt: 1.00, lime juice: .05)

1 large mango (the book says this is about 10 1/2 oz, though I've never weighed and mine has always turned out well)
3 C plain yogurt
1 C cold water
2 Tbsp sugar (I know this seems low, but give it a go. You'll be surprised at how much the sweet mango tempers that yogurt. If you use an underripe mango, you will need a bit more sugar, but you shouldn't need more than 6 Tbsp absolute tops)
a good squirt of lime juice
ground ginger to garnish (I've never used this)

Peel and cut your mango. Throw it, the yogurt, water, and sugar into the blender. Blend until smooth. Taste and add more sugar if neccessary. Squirt the lime juice in and blend. Pour over ice if desired and garnish with ginger.

PRINTABLE RECIPE