Things I want right now #6

I'm not actually much of a mango fan.  As a child I remember this amazing new phenomenon, sparking a massive craze in fruit drinks - orange and mango.  I liked it well enough, but the fruit itself - I just don't get the hype.  I had a girlfriend once who was seriously into mango - like "couldn't get enough" into it.  The only wee problem was that she suffered from a dire allergy to the outside of the skin of the mango, so could not handle it to get at the tasty flesh within.  She taught me, hands-free of course, how to slice and segment a mango.  To my credit, I never teased her by witholding mango, even for a moment, even completely in jest.  Or maybe it wasn't to my credit entirely, perhaps I just read well enough those signals in her eyes that told me the seriousness of the consequences.....and I don't mean the allergic rash reaction either.

But right now I want a mango lassi.  With the juice of half a lime, a dash (never use too much) of rose water, a pinch of freshly ground cardamom seed.  And just the tiniest speck of black pepper.  Trust me on the teeny spot of pepper thing, it really does set the whole melange off wonderfully, and gives a focal counterpoint to the slightly cloying mouthfeel of the mango/yoghurt combination, and of course - it goes so well with lime.  A sprig of mint for garnish.

Here, I've made you one too.

For those unfamiliar, a lassi is basically a drink made with yoghurt as the base, and whipped up with the fruits and water to thin it enough for drinking, if necessary.  It's a refreshing, nutritious, restorative drink and because it's made with yoghurt and cardamom (a lassi always has cardamom) there is none of that dairy heaviness you might expect.  The yoghurt froths up beautifully and gives the whole thing a light fluffiness that matches fruits like mango just perfectly.

True, I could make one and pour it on down the tube but......no.

Mm.  Maybe it's because today we went out on a supply run down to the Medium Smoke (and saw the dental clinic, sigh) and got all townified and hot on the first really warm day of Spring.  I'd imagine in India (the lassi's native home) that a cooling, lassi on a hot day in the bustle nd chaos of the city would be just the ticket to re-ground and recharge,

Anyway, I do rather want one.