Month: January 2022

Referred to as the “ancient smoothie”, lassi is recognized as the first smoothie drink in the ancient world. Although lassi itself is a large category for this blog I will be focusing on the most popular variation mango lassi. I will come back and talk about the other types on a later date.

Mango lassi is a traditional Indian drink from Punjab, a region in northwest India. It originated sometime around 1000 BC and was said to have Ayurvedic healing properties, calming the stomach and the mind. While the actual benefits of lassi are arguable, there are various studies of the matter, one of which can be found here. The argument being that since Lassi is produced of yogurt or dahi, it is said to be very beneficial for our stomach. It is moderate on the belly and consists of lactobacilli which are stable microbes that grease up the digestive organs and help in smooth processing lassi is a sound and regular reply for stomach swelling. In the ancient world where medicine was not as developed, this would be extremely helpful, although India was ahead of the world at this time when it came to scientific advancement. It makes sense that the medical properties of the drink were found in this region of the world as the eastern world was far ahead when it came to scientific advancement. Some of the medical achievements can be found here.

Mango lassi is a creamy drink made with mango, yogurt, milk, a little jaggery, and various spices depending on personal preference. The most common of these spices tend to be cardamom, and the jaggery can be substituted for sugar, but the general favor profile will remain largely the same. The main difference between mango lassis is the type of mango used. The first big question is frozen or fresh. Fresh is obviously preferred, but mangoes are not always in season, so frozen is also quite acceptable. The much larger question is how ripe the mangoes are. It all comes down to personal preference. Ripened mangos are much sweeter and thus result in a much sweeter drink. Unripe mangoes are more sour and result in a slightly sour tang to the drink. There is no clear winner over which is better, as it all comes down to personal preference. I personally find the taste of ripe mangos to be fuller and like the drink better is made with ripe mangos. It just feels fresher to me. A recipe can be found here, so you the reader can try it out for yourself. Maybe mix and match the spices and other ingredients and find what you like best.

“ગમતું મળે તો અલ્યા, ગૂંજે ન ભરીયે, ને ગમતાં નો કરીએ ગુલાલ!”Gamtu Male to Alya Gunje na Bhariye, Ne Gamta no Kariye Gulal…” when transliterated from Gujrati means “when you find something worth cherishing don’t hold it in your pocket, rather spread it, share the joy and let others experience the same joy it has brought you…”. It is a saying by the Gujrati’s talking about how it is important to share your joy with others. It is the guiding principle behind the Gujrati people, the merchant peoples of India.

Today I talk about perhaps the most iconic dish from the state of Gujrat, golpapdi, or what it is called in Hindi, sukhdi. I believe this is the first time I am talking about something originating from Gujrat, which also happens to be my ancestral state. Gujrat is the Venice of India, a merchant state, supplying goods to the rest of India. As such one of their iconic foods has spread throughout India in the form of sukhdi, or in Gujrati, gol papdi.

Sukhadi is made from Ghee (clarified butter), whole wheat flour and jaggery. The whole wheat flour is roasted in ample amount of ghee till it turns aromatic and brownish. Grated jaggery, in equal amount of flour is added to the mixture after removing pan from the heat, and stirred to make a mixture that is transferred to a plate to set. After making level of the mixture, pieces are created. This is a very simplified recipe and a real one can be found here.

 

Sukhdi is the Indian equivalent of fudge and can be eaten many different ways with many different topics, although the topics are usually nuts or fruits of somesort. It is a very diverse dish, however being originally from Gujrat and being spread by traders rather than natural spread, there is not much variation in the dish itself.

 

Sukhdi is often made during Diwali or given as a prasad at a temple. Prasada (Sanskrit pronunciation: [pɽɐsaːdɐ],), variantly spelled as Prasadam and Prasad, is a religious offering in Jainism, Hinduism, and Sikhism. Most often prasada is vegetarian food consumed by worshippers after worship. To learn more go here. A lot of Jains tend to be Gujrati so sukhdi is primarily used as prasad in Jain temples. A place very famous for it’s sukhdi is Mahudi. If you are Jain or from Gujarat then you likely have been there. There is the Jain temple in Mahudi, a small town in Gujarat. And you will get sukhdi there as a prasad.

 

I personally have never been to Mahudi, but I have heard that it is some of the best sukhdi in the world. It is supposed to be very soft and is served warm. To learn more about Mahudi  I personally really like Sukhdi and recommend trying it to anyone who gets the chance. It is definitely no my favorite sweet I have written about and it is not for everybody.