I need an expert in Indian food

IronDuke

Ancient Mariner
I'm trying to make mango Lassi, a yoghurt-based cool drink from India. I've only had it once before, and I was half hung-over when my friend was making it so I didn't get all the recipe.
My question is this: Do I add salt?
I seem to remember him adding salt to it, but I can't recall for sure. All the recipes on the web call for sugar, which I think isn't needed because of the mango I'm putting in.

Any suggestions? What about other variants?
 
About half of the recipes I found mention salt. Jamie Oliver says that it's optional. I suggest that you make it without salt, pour a bit aside, add a few grains of salt and taste it.  -_-

As for the sugar, it's needed for the texture, I think. Not too much though.
 
Seemingly, it is either made sweet or sour where sugar or salt is added accordingly, to taste. Some have said to add mint as well.

I have to admit, I was intrigued by this thread as I consider myself almost an expert on eating Indian food, particularly Madras. :)
 
SilentLucidity said:
What does it take? -_-
To put it simply, sampling enough curries from all over the country (homemade and otherwise) and knowing what goes with what, etc. And you cannot beat a decent Madras with Peshawar naan bread and, well, any rice. And to whet your appetite whilst you wait; poppadoms with lime pickle. :)

And then the "bohemian" side of me will insist on a beer to accompany my meal. ;)
 
That brings back some nice memories... -_-

And yes, Albie, I see how one can be passionate about food. JackKnife started a thread once that you might have liked.
 
SilentLucidity said:
And yes, Albie, I see how one can be passionate about food. JackKnife started a thread once that you might have liked.
The French can indeed be passionate about food, so it would not surprise me if he did start a topic on it.

But I do remember Perun starting a food topic once. I was still a newbie back then and did actually think about doing one myself, but a couple of topics I started at the time didn't get a great deal of response. So, ease my way in, I then thought. ;)
 
Well, I made it according to the recipe below, and WOW. This is just about the best thing I've tasted in a long time.
I highly reccomend trying this! Next time I'm going to add some rum or vodka just to see what happens.

One mango (minus the peel and giant seed, of course)
300 mL (1.25 cups for you old folks) of plain yoghurt
150 mL homogenized milk
a spoonful of salt (I didn't really measure)
a little bit of vanilla extract (again, I didn't measure. Probably about a teaspoon)

Put it all in the blender until all the ingredients are of the same consistency. Enjoy.
 
Albie said:
Peshawar naan bread

Call me crazy, but one of my favourite things ever is a hot naan from an oven in a Karachi street shop.
Haven't had it in over 15 years, though.
 
well considering that i am of east indian descent...i guess i could help you out with this...

yeah the guy who said it can be either sweet or sour is right...normally if you go to an indian restaurant and ask for any kind of lassi they have an option between sweet or salted...

so i guess the answer to your question is YES, you can use salt. but then again sugar is just as appropriate. personally i prefer the sweet lassi, but you should try both!

as for variants...dont really know, all the lassi ive ever had has tasted pretty much the same, although of course some places can make it better than others. i do recall some places adding pistachio nuts as a sprinkling on the top..dunno what this is sposed to do..guess its for added flavor?? and yes, the vodka/rum mix i imagine would turn out to be a good idea...but i guess you'd only know the morning after!  :p
 
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