Anyone who knows me well knows that I love Indian food.

Okay, strike that. Anyone who has only slightly met me knows it, because I shout “I LOVE INDIAN FOOD!” sometimes, totally spontaneously, to strangers who look like they’re curious about what drives me in life.

(Now you know)

And Mango Lassis–have you heard of them? Ever had one? Well. WELL. Imagine perfect, sweet, ripe Mango pureed with yogurt and cream. Now make it a little more liquidy and add some ingredients I haven’t researched but are probably in there too, and bam.

So basically it’s an ultra-good mango yogurt drink.

The thing is, yogurt doesn’t sit so well in my stomach. At least not in super large quantities, and it’s impossible to have a Mango Lassi and not drink super large quantities. I’ve become more dairy-sensitive as I’ve gotten older, and while I’m by no means striking dairy from my diet, I can no longer ingest an entire wheel of Brie in one sitting.*

*Yes, I did. And paid for it with pain. Lots of pain. Though part of that could also have been the ENTIRE BAGUETTE I spread it on. I can only say that I was twenty years old and . . . yes.

Recently, my co-worker brought her homemade Vegan Mango Lassi to the office. And brilliantly, she put Chia seeds in it, which made it almost like a pudding. She offered me a taste and I was blown away. It was so good. And it was healthy too???? I had to make it myself. And over the weekend, I did.

Twice.

The baby made me do it.

Do yourself a kindness and make it too. It is so creamy and wonderful that I feel no need to seek out any other Mango Lassi recipes. Ever.

Vegan Chia Mango Lassi

Serves 4

2 ripe mangoes

13.6 oz (1 can) coconut milk

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp lime juice

2 TBS maple syrup

2 TBS Chia seeds (optional)

First, soak the Chia seeds in 6 oz of water for about 15 minutes (or follow the directions on the back of your package of seeds). Have you ever done stuff with these magical little thingies before? If not, today’s your lucky day.

Also, does anyone else feel the random need to capitalize the word Chia? It can’t be just me.

Next, grab yon mango.

Peeleth it. Chopeth it. Repeateth with the second mango.

Puree the first five ingredients in a blender.

Stir in the Chia seeds and soaking water. Then chill the whole beautiful mess in the fridge. When it’s nice and cold, drink it up or eat it with a spoon.

NOTE: If you’d like to go for the pudding experience, you can add the Chia seeds directly to the lassi instead of soaking them in water first. Let them lounge around in the lassi for a couple hours, then get your spoon out and dive in.

Does that picture gross you out? If you said ‘yes,’ you probably need therapy because of a scarring experience with baby food that you can’t remember but is secretly ruining your life.

I need therapy.

OTHER NOTE: The flavor of the lassi will be SO dependent on the flavor of your mangoes. Taste them! If they’re a little bland, you may need to amp up the lime juice and maple syrup. If they’re bursting with flavor, you may not need maple syrup or lime juice at all! Go with your taste buds on this one.

Here’s a picture of me showing how happy this lassi makes me.

And here’s a picture of me holding it in my claw.

Make it!

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