Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Mango Lassi with Cardamom


And now for something different…
I’ve ordered mango lassis at many Indian restaurants over the years, and have always anticipated the cool, refreshing beverage. It never occurred to me to make them myself until I saw take-out cups of mango lassi for sale at the health food store for $4! What a bonus to discover that the recipe includes a spice in my challenge!

I modified this easy recipe only slightly
You guessed it, I used fat free yogurt and skim milk, substituting one packet of Equal for the sugar. I will continue to enjoy the slightly richer flavor in restaurant versions, but at home, this nutritionally guilt-free option will become a staple. I sprinkled cardamom into the blender but did not add more prior to serving because the flavor was enough for my tastes (I didn’t measure the amount, but it was probably 1/8 teaspoon). The mango in the blender looks lumpy because it was frozen when I got a bunch of mangos on sale and had too many ripe to eat at once.

The glass was a yard sale find, thanks in part to this blog…well, sort of! Upon arriving at a B & B we’ve stayed at before to celebrate our anniversary, I was disappointed to see that the town-wide yard sale was also being held right in the back yard of the B & B. Thankfully the additional noise and traffic was not too disruptive, and as we were checking out, yard sale items were marked down 50%. Did I really need a set of wine/dessert stemware, small cordials for the granita I’ve always wanted to make, or a lovely set of silver ice cream bowls? Um, no. But they were beautiful, affordable, and we truly didn’t have anything like them already. The glassware and silver had belonged to one of the B & B owners’ grandmothers, as are many of our nice serving ware items, and now I have a new challenge: to figure out spice recipes to photograph in our “souvenirs”.
Do you have a favorite hot or cold beverage that includes a spice?

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