Mango Lassi recipe

    2 1/2     cups water
    8     teaspoons sugar
    1     30-ounce can of Kesar mango pulp
    16     ounces plain yogurt (regular or fat-free)

Blend water and sugar for 30 seconds. Add mango pulp and yogurt and blend until smooth. Chill for at least 30 minutes before serving. Yields 8 cups.

A modest 10-table Asian restaurant situated beside an Ace Hardware store, Tangerine Café is one of Cary’s best kept gastronomic secrets. Where else can you find Thai, Indian, Korean, Indonesian and Vietnamese cuisine all on the same menu?

Among the tempting offerings available is mango lassi, a traditional yogurt-based Indian specialty drink served chilled. Smooth and creamy in texture, this simple concoction bursts with refreshing sweetness.  

“It basically contains mango puree, yogurt and sugar blended together,” explained soft-spoken chef-owner Bernard Huang, who hails from Calcutta, India. “We sell a lot of it during the warmer months of the year.”

At $2.95 a glass, the beverage is often served with a guest’s entree, although Huang said others prefer enjoying it after the meal. “Some people consider the mango lassi a dessert, which is fine,” he said with a smile.

Fresh mango can be used in place of the pulp, but the texture will be somewhat different and, depending on the sweetness and ripeness of the mango, more sugar may be required.

“I use the pulp for two main reasons: consistency and availability,” said Huang. “I eat a lot of mangos, and you can only get really good, really sweet mangos at a certain time of year. But mango pulp is always available, and it gives consistency to the recipe. I obviously need consistency for the restaurant, but someone experimenting at home can give fresh mangos a try.”

Tangerine CafÉ
2422 SW Cary Parkway
(Parkway Pointe shopping center), Cary
(919) 468-8688
tangerinecafecary.com