Indian Mandarin Fruit Lassi

[Post Updated 09-25-2012]

I am a little bit crazy and obsessive over Indian Lassi's. I have fond memories of my Mom taking me to indian restaraunts on special daughter/mother dates when I was in high school. After missing them I set out to create one at home. A Lasi is a cold traditional Indian drink consisting of yogurt and milk and topped with cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom and pistachio nuts. Often a Lasi will have fruit added to it. It is a cool and creamy drink with a delightful soured yogurt tang. Since Indian Food is often made very spicy and hot this drink is absolutely delicious with a spicy meal.

You can make it thin or thick by varying how much mandarin juice you add. I actually like to make this thin and pour it over ice and drink it with a straw. There is a restaraunt called Bombay Grill in Ogden Utah that I absolutely love. I usually get a Mango Lasi with my meal and this recipe tastes just like it! If you can't get a hold of a truly ripe mango, I learned that the trick is adding canned mandarin oranges and juice. Feel free to change this up however you like. When experimenting with this recipe I try to remember that it should be tangy, fruity, cold, frothy, rich and creamy! This version can easily be VEGAN. Please see my notes below.

Indian Mandarin Fruit Lasi  Serves 4

1 cup Coconut Bliss Vanilla Ice Cream
1 cup vanilla or plain kefir OR Vegan Organic Soy Yogurt OR Nut Yogurt
1 large can mandarin oranges, juice reserved
1/2 Juice from the can of mandarin oranges (***you will need to add slowly until desired thickness is achieved)
2 small oranges, peeled or add the equivalent of fresh ripe mango slices
1 1/2 cups frozen peach or mango slices (or a combination of both)

Blend all ingredients in the blender and pour into glasses.

Top with a light sprinkle of cinnmon, nutmeg, cardamom (optional)
Crumble some pistachio nuts on top (also optional)

I like mine plain. Kind of like a yogurt smoothie.

Here is a picture of a traditional Mango Lassi:

(Source)

You can add some ice if you like it super thick and cold. If you want to bring out the flavor of orange and peach a bit more squeeze a little bit of lemon juice into the smoothie and add a pinch of stevia.

Make it Vegan!

To make this vegan add coconut or organic soy yogurt instead of kefir but you may need to add a little bit more liquid such as orange juice, water or mandarin orange canned syrup to make up for how thick yogurt can be. You may also want to add a tsp of lemon juice to make it tangy like kefir would. For vegetarians, a really high quality kefir will give you beneficial probiotics and will impart a zesty tang that complements oranges peaches and mango really well.