Mango Lassi (Mango Yogurt Smoothie)

by Trisha Vaz
I honestly think that the mango is my favorite fruit. There was a time where our ancestral property in Goa yielded huge amounts of fruits like mango, jackfruit, bananas, papayas, chickoos and cashew to name a few. So back in the day we had access to a seemingly endless supply of some of the most delicious mangoes I’ve ever had. I haven’t been there ever since my grand-aunt and grandmother passed away. I miss them and the good old days terribly.

Just the other day, when my mum came over for lunch, she brought us some mangoes. They were not my favorite variety but I knew that this particular variety was excellent for milk shakes and such. I didn’t have too much milk lying around, but I did have a couple of tubs of plain, natural yogurt. So I figured, why not make some mango lassi?

This is a wonderful way to use up fruit. You may  remember the strawberry lassi from some time ago. The mango lassi as well is cool and refreshing, perfect for the crazy summer months, not to mention it also has the deliciousness of mango. Its easy to whip up and in a few sheer minutes you’ll have a lovely cool treat in hand.

Mango Lassi
(Serves 2)

1 tub natural unflavored yogurt (We get it in 400g tubs)
Flesh of 1-2 mangoes
2 spoons superfine sugar (optional)
A few ice cubes (You wont need this if you can chill the mango before blending)

Place all the ingredients in a blender and blitz till is well incorporated.

Serve.




This recipe is linked to – 
Just Another Meatless Monday
Monday, Mmm … Dessert

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Beverages, Breakfast, Recipes

Ice Tea – The Lemon and the Strawberry way

by Trisha Vaz
UPDATE: If you don’t have loose tea leaves in your pantry, you don’t need to buy some just to make this. Simply use tea bags to make the tea and then proceed as mentioned below. Enjoy!

In my part of the world, summer is upon us in all its glory. Sometimes I think that besides a couple of weeks that we can call the monsoon and an even shorter time span that we call winter, what we experience is varying degrees of summer. How I long for colder weather. Anyway, to help deal with the heat levels around here, we make a good pitcher of Ice Tea. We’ve tried a couple of flavors and I think they’re simply lovely. We’ve also sampled the ready powdered stuff that you get, brands like Lipton and Nestea and stuff, but let me tell you, there’s nothing better than the real deal. It takes a few minutes more to make, but its so worth it.

Lemon Ice Tea

3 cups water
1/2 tsp tea leaves
2 lemons / limes
Sugar, to taste
Sprigs of mint, to garnish
Ice cubes, as required
Bring the water to a boil. 
Tip in the tea leaves and let it simmer for about 30 seconds to a minute. If you like a stronger tea flavor, let it simmer longer. If you prefer it mild, you should take it off the stove sooner.
Strain the tea to get rid of the tea leaves. Add sugar to taste. (You can substitute with a sweetener of your choice.)
Let the tea cool down.
Add the juice of about 2 limes. Again, taste and see how much citrus you’d like.
Give it a good stir.
Decant in glasses with lots of ice. 
Garnish with a sprig of mint or a wedge of lime.
Strawberry Ice Tea

For this variant, make the tea just like you would for the lemon ice tea.
Add the sweetener of your choice. 
We like to add some lime juice to this as well. It adds a nice touch. Of course, quantity needs to be adjusted to suit your preference.
Lastly, add some strawberry puree or crush to this and stir well. Don’t forget to top the glass with some ice. What you see at the bottom of the glass is a whole strawberry to munch on after you’re done with the drink.
Make your own ice tea. You will get hooked, and yeah, in the bargain you’ll beat the heat as well.
This recipe is linked to – 

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Beverages, Recipes

Strawberry Lassi (Strawberry Yogurt Smoothie)

by Trisha Vaz
One really popular drink especially during the hot summers in India is a Lassi. A lassi is nothing but fresh yogurt sweetened to your liking and top with a dollop of cream. I like mine without the cream. Its refreshing and healthy. Restaurants here serve two varieties a sweet and a salty lassi. I’ve never tried the salty variant, I don’t think I’d like it.

Summer seems to have found its ways here a little to early. Its as hot as it would typically be during the peak of summer in the month of May. I can only imagine what May will be like. What better way to cope with the crazy heat than a delicious, cool, fruity lassi. Surprisingly the only fruity yogurt we can find here is processed and honestly, doesn’t even taste like yogurt anymore. I’d picked up a whole bunch of strawberries on our last trip to Panchgani and decided to add a few to the lassi. The result was delicious, refreshing and as REAL as real food gets without any funny stuff (read preservatives etc.) added to it and its so simple to make. I used fresh strawberries since they were in season but I’m pretty sure frozen berries will do just fine as well. You can opt to use a sweetener of your choice or if you prefer you can leave it out altogether.

Strawberry Lassi
(Serves 2)

1 tub natural unflavored yogurt (We get it in 400g tubs)
A few fresh stawberries (I used about 8-10 strawberries)
2 spoons superfine sugar (optional)

Place all the ingredients in a blender and blitz till is well incorporated.

Serve.

This recipe is linked to –
This Week’s Cravings
Decidedly Healthy or Horridly Decadent
Sweet Tooth Friday
Sweets for a Saturday

Seasonal Indulgence – Series Summer Coolers

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Beverages, Breakfast, Recipes