Lassi Come Home

There are at least thirty Indian restaurants in my neighborhood, which wouldn’t mean much if I lived in Mumbai, but is somewhat impressive for New York City. The restaurants serve beer and wine, but not hard alcohol, which means no one is taking advantage of what seems to me a brilliant combination: the lassi cocktail. Thank God for home entertaining. A lassi is a seriously refreshing chilled yogurt drink. I always thought it was labor-intensive, but in my quest for an adult version, I’ve discovered it’s really easy. Blenders are good that way. As we are now down to the last precious days of Mango Month, the recipe I’ve worked up employs the most popular fruit in the world.

Vodka Lassi
2 mangos
1 cup milk
1 ½ cups Greek yogurt
1 tbl honey
1 oz lemon juice
2 oz vodka
2 tsp pistachio
Dash of ground cardamom

Chop up the mango and put it in a blender with the rest of the ingredients. The cardamom can be hard to find, so it’s definitely optional, as is the pistachio, which can be blended in or added afterwards as a garnish. The two ounces of vodka are kind of a baseline: the strong flavors in the lassi will disguise much of the alcohol, so you can make this drink as lethal or non-lethal as you like. The recipe makes two drinks about the size of a large milkshake, or four small drinks. If you opt for the larger pour, note that it’s surprisingly filling. (Well, maybe not so surprising, since there’s a bunch of yogurt and two whole mangoes in it; but I was surprised when I skipped right through dinner.)