Food Recipes Breakfast & Brunch Smoothies Banana Cardamom Lassi Be the first to rate & review! This creamy lassi is gently spiced with cardamom and ginger and sweetened with honey for a tasty dessert or breakfast drink. By Chandra Ram Chandra Ram Chandra Ram leads the digital food strategy for Food & Wine. She has 15 years experience writing and editing food content and developing recipes. A former restaurant cook and server, she also writes cookbooks. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on August 3, 2023 Tested by Food & Wine Test Kitchen Tested by Food & Wine Test Kitchen Recipes published by Food & Wine are rigorously tested by the culinary professionals at the Dotdash Meredith Food Studios in order to empower home cooks to enjoy being in the kitchen and preparing meals they will love. Our expert culinary team tests and retests each recipe using equipment and ingredients found in home kitchens to ensure that every recipe is delicious and works for cooks at home every single time. Meet the Food & Wine Test Kitchen Rate Print Share Photo: Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Barrett Washburne Active Time: 5 mins Total Time: 5 mins Servings: 2 servings Lassis are traditional Indian yogurt drinks that originated in the Punjab region of northwest India and date back as far as 1000 BC. They are one of the most popular Indian recipes consumed around the world — you'll find them in cafes, coffee shops, and restaurants all over. Lassis are enjoyed for both their flavor and the calming anti-inflammatory effects they have on the body, especially after eating spicy food. They are made most often with yogurt (although you will see buttermilk from time to time) and are flavored with spices like saffron, cardamom, or rosewater; as well as fruit, often mangoes, strawberries, bananas, and pineapple. Use a thinner textured plain yogurt to make this lassi; Greek-style yogurt will be too thick and will require a little extra water added to thin it out so that it’s drinkable. If you have buttermilk, you can use that instead of water to thin it out. This lassi is a great way to make use of fresh bananas or ones that have been stashed in the freezer — just make sure they are soft and ripe (or overripe), and be sure to thaw out frozen bananas before using them. If the bananas are already very sweet, you might want to cut back on the amount of honey you use to sweeten the lassi. Add a little, taste it, and adjust the amount of honey as needed. Ingredients 2 cups plain yogurt 4 small bananas, ripe or overripe, sliced 2 tablespoons honey, plus more as needed 1 teaspoon grated ginger 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom Pinch of kosher salt Water as needed Directions Combine yogurt, bananas, honey, ginger, cardamom, and salt in a blender; blend on high speed until smooth and creamy. Taste and add water if needed; you want this to be creamy but thin enough to drink. Sweeten with more honey, if you prefer. Pour into 2 glasses and serve. Rate It Print