I've never come across a papaya lassi on a menu anywhere. I wonder why because it is so darned delicious! And takes literally a few minutes to make. A papaya lassi is absolutely one of the best ways to ensure you eat more of this amazing fruit with all its glorious health benefits.
Why a papaya lassi works!
As a general rule of thumb, any stone fruit or fruit with gorgeous soft flesh would be delicious when blitzed with some yoghurt. The lassi made famous by mango is a traditional Indian drink of blended fruit, yoghurt and spices - most likely cardamom. If you look at cardamom's flavour notes, it is sweet and floral with delicate eucalyptus notes. A perfect match for mango, coconut, peach, pear, strawberry, persimmon and papaya.
Papaya with its glorious orange buttery soft flesh and exotic musky flavour, works really well with yoghurt (especially coconut yoghurt!) and cardamom. And that is why a papaya lassi is a no brainer.
Why papaya might be the healthiest fruit on the planet?
A small papaya (that I have come to realize I can devour in a single sitting!) has almost 200% of your daily recommended Vitamin C intake. And a good amount of potassium and magnesium. An incredibly good source of fiber and folic acid, papaya can lower bad cholesterol and regulate digestion. Being super-rich in lycopene, papaya is known to reduce the risk of colon and prostate cancer.
A bowl full of papaya every other day might be excellent for building up your immunity while providing your gut with all the good bacteria it needs to thrive and flourish. Cut papaya keeps in the fridge for up to 2 days and can be frozen for up to 2 months. When they are in season, choose the ripest papayas you can find, peel deseed and cube them to freeze for the offseason. This papaya lassi is a great way to use up fresh or frozen papaya.
How do you eat your daily papaya? I usually just drizzle the flesh with lime juice and scoop and eat it with a spoon. I have recently started making this super delicious Papaya Ceviche. And now this papaya lassi is keeping things interesting in the daily-papaya-eating-department. If you have a fun way of having papayas, please do share! x
Recipe
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Ingredients
- 1 small ripe red papaya, approx 500g
- 1 cup Greek yoghurt
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom + extra for sprinkling
- 1/2 cup crushed ice
Instructions
- Cut the papaya in half (lengthways). Using a spoon, scoop out the seeds and discard. Using a sharp paring knife, carefully peel the papaya. Place the papaya cut side down on a chopping board and cut into small pieces.
- Place papaya pieces, yoghurt, cardamom, maple syrup and ice in the jug of a blender. Blend until smooth.
- Pour into two 500ml capacity tall glasses. Sprinkle with extra cardamom and serve.
Could you substitute other fruits such as ripe mango, banana etc?
of course! I have mentioned some fruits that would work well in this recipe up in my post. Banana doesn't work well here with the cardamom. But ripe mango, peach and strawberry are very good substitutes for papaya. x
Made this week and oh so refreshingly delicious! Jus a great afternoon pick me up after a busy morning...the cardamom is so nice in this!
This looks so good, I can't wait to get to the market and buy some papaya! I try to find wholesome, good recipes to treat myself and share with others. There are so many not so nutritious temptations out there...this is truly refreshing!