taste of childhood, redefined.
It was a bit strange at first being home after so long. A year and a half went by and so much has happened in those 18 months or so. Coming back home though was like walking back into time and falling back into the same old routine. {My parents, however, acted as if I was a celebrity and even allowed me to eat dessert before dinner. The perks of visiting home after so long and living so far, far away!} Naturally, I gravitated towards my daily rituals of helping my mom set the table and subsequently clean it after every meal. My dad always fixed an afternoon treat and a Sunday brunch. Little brother was growing up and developing an eclectic palate and always opened up a bottle of wine. And if you haven’t noticed, our roles are centered around food and libations.
I thought I would re-create a childhood favorite that is mango lassi and make it into a granita! This mango lassi granita is sweet. This mango lassi granita is moreish. This mango lassi granita is subtly spiced. This mango lassi granita is literally my childhood.
Serves 3-4
Mango Lassi
ingredients
- 2-3 champagne mangoes, ripe and paired
- 1 cup yogurt
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1/2 cup cold water
- Pinch of cardamom powder
- 1/4 cup pistachios, deshelled
- 1/2 tbs dried rose petals
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp red chili powder
- 1 1/2 cups chilled heavy cream
- 3 tbs powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
method
For the chantilly cream. In a bowl with an electric mixer beat the cream until it just holds stiff peaks, add the sugar and the ground ginger, and beat the mixture until it holds stiff peaks. Transfer the cream into a serving bowl.
For the dukkah. Combine all the ingredients in a morter and pestle and roughly press until well mixed and the ingredients are just broken down.
For the granita. Put the mango, yoghurt, lemon juice, cold water and cardamom powder in a blender and smooth the mixture. Pour into a baking dish and freeze uncovered for an hour. Stir the mixture with a fork and put it back in freezer. After two hours, lightly scrape the top layer (which will be frozen) using a fork. Ideally, you should repeat the scraping every hour the first 4 hours (so you do it 4 times). i just cover the baking dish afterwards and freeze for 5-8 hours and return to the scraping when I’m back. Once it all has been scraped, ready to serve. You don’t have to serve it immediately and before you do serve it, just scrape a bit of it so it’s easy to consume.
Assemble by placing a bit of the granita in a small dessert bowl, add the chantilly cream and then dukkah on top to garnish!
so, we shared a glass of lassi…
The first 2 weeks went by incredibly quickly as my brother was home with his kitten. I had some work that needed to get done before mid-May and there were lots of errands to run and people to see too. It left very little time for me to be in the house really. Until week three hit. I was itching to get back to London, my routine, my other people. I was missing friends and the energy that comes with them and the city in the summer. Watching snapchat updates were burdensome, but I went through with it until near the end of that week my mom finally let me into the kitchen. Since I was visiting after so long she felt compelled to do everything on her own and didn’t let me raise a finger. I found it a bit irritating honestly, but let her do her thing because it’s what kept her happy. But it was one afternoon that I was looking to re-schedule my ticket that she asked if I wanted a mango lassi. Mangoes were coming into season and she picked up a few for me. So we shared a glass and gossiped about the neighboring aunties. It was like I was back in the car after my tennis lessons just snacking and chatting.
Note
You can make this vegan by using coconut yoghurt for the lassi and use maple syrup instead of honey. Also, coconut cream instead of heavy cream. This variation has been tested and it worked out great!
