Mango Lassi

Lassi is a traditional Indian, yogurt based, non-alcoholic beverage. It is lightly sweetened (or in some flavour variety also savoury), rich yet refreshing. It is very simple to prepare and will make a great beverage to offer to accompany your special dinner, especially for teatotalers as a substitute to wine or beer. It is also rich enough to make a light dessert option, or can be enjoyed any time when you are in the mood! :-)

Mango Lassi

300ml plain yogurt
200ml milk
2 fresh mangoes
2-3 tablespoon of sugar (to start with, add as needed.)
pinch of freshly ground cardamom

Peel, pit and slice up the mangoes
Put all the ingredients into a blender/food processor, blend thoroughly until smooth. (Check the sweetness and if needed add some more sugar to your preference)
Chill in the fridge 1-2 hour.
Give it another whip on a blender before serving.

Mango Colada

Here is another new idea for a refreshing festive beverage for the festive season. We had some extra mango perfectly ripe to be enjoyed, as mango being just as tropical and delicious as pineapple, I thought why not pairing it with pineapple's best friend coconut and voila, here it is... I invented this recipe without crushed ice, as we have lost our ice crusher, and it works perfectly as long as you think ahead by a couple of hours!
Also I have no doubt it will be just as delicious on a beachside on a hot summer day! :-)

Mango Colada (for about 3 servings)

1 large ripe mango, peeled, deseeded
Freshly squeezed juice of 1 orange
200ml coconut milk
70-80ml rum
2 tbsp sugar
water to bring the amount to 750ml

Put all the ingredients in a blender and mix until it attains a smooth texture.
Let it rest in the freezer for a couple of hours until it becomes dense and slushy (but not solid... if you are tend to be distracted may be an idea to set a timer to check!)
Give it another quick buzz on the blender before serving to even out the texture.

Kiwi daiquiri

Occasionally we run into certain problems with kiwi, we would buy them while they are pretty hard, assuming they would ripen in some days. Well some kiwis are pretty stubborn, they would remain like rocks and go straight into a shrivelled up state instead of ripening. The last time this happened, we found a great solution. A delicious, refreshing dose of kiwi daiquiri!! Of course more reasonable, ripened kiwi can be used as well, just adjust the amount of the sugar. This recipe will be a welcome idea for the upcoming merry season!

Kiwi Daiquiri
(for 3-4 portions)

-6-7 tough kiwis, peeled and cut into a few chunks
(if the whitish centre part is very hard, cut it away)
-half cup of sugar (or adjust the amount as needed. if you use mature kiwis obviously much less sugar is needed)
-80-90ml rum
-juice from 2 limes
-a little water to make it to about 750-800ml

place all the ingredients in a blender, buzz them until the mixture becomes smooth.
Place it in a freezer for about 2 hours, or until the mixture attains a slushy texture.
Put it back on the blender and give it a quick whip for a couple of seconds

Enjoy, slurrrrp