Lassi, Come Home!

Did you weep over this 1943 classic when you were a child? Look at the poster – and notice that there is no mention of the 11 year old girl who was playing in her first MGM role. Later posters did feature Elizabeth Taylor’s name, as her career took off!

I didn’t spell the title wrongly – I just remembered the film because we have been drinking Lassi this week! I picked some up on offer in the supermarket recently. It is lovely and cool from the fridge on a hot day. Lassi is a traditional Indian yogurt based drink. There are loads of recipes out there [here is Jamie’s] But I have found that the Pakeeza Mango has a good flavour and is amazingly thick. It is currently available in Sainsbury’s, Morrison’s and Asda. 1 litre is usually around £2.80, but currently £2. Because it is so thick, I dilute it 50/50 with milk and stir well. I have also frozen some lassi-lollies! The bottle has a sensible screw top, so the drink keeps fresh for a few days in the fridge. The homemade stuff needs using up faster!

Did some wise guy tell you that in the film, “Lassie” was played by a dog, and not a bitch? And that there were lots of Lassies?

A man named Rudd Weatherwax [you couldn’t make this stuff up]trained a dog originally called Pal who starred in the 1943 film, and then bred him with a number of bitches, thus producing lots of offspring who starred in subsequent movies, and made celebrity appearances worldwide, all under the name “Lassie”

I suppose you could say that Lassi is a great drink for the Dog Days of summer!