Demystifying the Mango Lassi

One of the drawbacks of learning to cook ethnic cuisine is that you soon discover that inexpensive restaurants are pulling a quick one over on you, and with a little practice you can do it better, cheaper, and often faster.

Nowhere is this more true than in a city like Ann Arbor, where a cultured crowd craves cuisines of other cultures, but where the captive audience is taken advantage of by a restaurant community that recognizes options are few, and that the undergraduate population often carries parents' credit cards. And in no item is this better represented than the mango lassi. This drink, often unsweetened and salted in India, has become ubiquitous in Indian restaurants catering to American tastes, that is, in a sweetened form. Here I'm going to explain how simple it is to make your own delicious lassi, and never again pay for such a simple drink at dinner.

What you'll need:
1 ripened mango¹, cubed
1 cup yogurt²
~1/2 cup milk
1 to 4 t sugar (optional)²
ground cardamom (optional)<sup>3

1</sup>If you cut into an unripe mango, it's garbage. To tell if it is ripe, simply squeeze the outside and see if it gives easily. Then give it another day to be sure (for lassis you want super-ripe mangos). If you want to quickly ripen it, put it in a closed paper bag (with an apple if you have it - the apple gives off chemicals that help the mango ripen). Here's some directions for cutting mango, but ignore the part about using unripe mango. Also, yellow mangos are nice because they tell you when they are ripe.

²Use plain yogurt, but you don't have to, especially if (like me), you eat the flavored stuff. Flavored yogurt is often sweetened - if so, skip the sugar in the recipe, otherwise use sparingly to taste (maybe 1 tsp). If using plain yogurt, or something like Fage, you'll need up to 4 tsp sugar.

³The cardamom is optional, but is a nice touch, especially for presentation. Personally, I never have cardamom on hand, so I've used cinnamon and nutmeg - any spice you traditionally associate with savory sweets (e.g., pumpkin pie, egg nog), can be used.

Directions: Throw everything in a blender on the smoothie setting (fastest, highest), for a few minutes. That's it. That simple. $3+tax at some restaurants.

If you want you can serve it over ice. I prefer to put my blender carafe in the refrigerator to chill, cook dinner, and enjoy my chilled lassi with it.

As for demystifying ethnic food, living two blocks from an Indian grocery store and sharing an office with an Indian for four years has done it. I'm not an expert on many dishes, but my Dal is better than what I've had anywhere.