Mango Lassi - July's Selection from The Book Club Cook Book ‪#‎thebookclubcookbookCC‬

I received a copy of The Book Club Cook Book to help with a year-long exploration of the books and recipes it highlights. All opinions and experiences are my own. 

There is something very delicious and refreshing about a good Mango Lassi. Though I have never been able to travel to India, I had the opportunity to enjoy some pretty impressive Mango Lassis while living and working in Japan.

There was a little restaurant called Spice Kingdom in Takamatsu, Japan that I would often stop by for lunch or dinner. Amazing Indian food made by a family of expats bringing the flavors of their home country to a little city in southern Japan. Spice Kingdom was actually a favorite of many assistant language teachers and the restaurant was not far from our central office. After workshops or training we would head over as a group to Spice Kingdom.

Now, rural Oregon can't boast many Indian restaurants, In fact our first one opened just a few years ago, so my first experiences with good curries and fresh baked naan came from Japan. I know, Japan of all places!

Since returning to the US, I have attempted making naan, curry and even an occaisional Lassi, but this recipe is the best ever for the iconic thick and sweet drink.

This recipe comes from The Book Club Cook Book and was chosen as our first selection for Camilla's Book Club Cook Book Cooking Crew. Camilla, of Culinary Adventures with Camilla, brought together 11 food loving bloggers to take turns choosing books, recipes and sharing the fun. You can check out all the talented bloggers' sites below:

Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Tortillas and Honey

Adventures in All Things Food

A Day in the Life on the Farm

The Spiffy Cookie

The Pajama Chef

Life on Food

Cheese Curd in Paradise

Mostly Food and Crafts

Things I Make (for Dinner)

This recipe called for two ingredients I hadn't worked with before. It requires Mango Pulp (I have always just used canned or fresh mango pureed up in the blender) and rosewater. I left out the rosewater for this drink, but I did special order the mango pulp from Amazon. If you live in a larger area you might even have an Indian food section at your favorite grocer.

Mango Lassi is an easy recipe with few ingredients. The results though is perfection! (Okay, minus the rosewater...)

You only need 5 ingredients and 2 others are optional. You can find the recipe on pg. 200.

This month's recipe selection was inspired by Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri. I didn't have a chance to read this month's book, but the reason is because I am preparing (and furiously reading) my selection for next month when I will be the hostess. 

Be sure to check back here on the 1st for my recipe announcement and open invitation to come read and cook with us for August. I promise it will be sweet and enjoyable. Everyone is welcome to play along.

Check out these other recipes:

Saag with Tofu

Mango Lassi Frozen Treats

Giveaway

And to kick-off the event, Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla, this month's host, is giving away a copy of the book.* Enter to win a copy of the cookbook so you can join us in future months, if you wish!

One of our lucky readers - US and Canada only! - can enter to win a copy ofThe Book Club Cookbook, Revised Edition: Recipes and Food for Thought from Your Book Club's Favorite Books and Authorsby Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp, courtesy of Tarcher-Penguin.Giveaway runs from July 1st till July 31st at 6 o'clock PM, Pacific time. Please see terms and conditions in the rafflecopter widget below. Many thanks to Tarcher Books. You may find Tarcher: on the web, on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Pinterest.

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*Disclosure: Camilla received a complimentary copy ofThe Book Club Cookbook, Revised Edition: Recipes and Food for Thought from Your Book Club's Favorite Books and Authors by Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp to use in this year-long project plus the opportunity to give a copy away. Opinions are our own. We received no further compensation for our posts.