Shrikhand recipe | How to make Shrikhand- an easy recipe

Being my father’s all-time favourite dessert, we had Shrikhand Puri on the menu several times a year.

Common to both Maharashtra and Gujarat, Shrikhand is very very easily made at home.

Shrikhand is similar in taste to cheese cake, being made out of yoghurt, but has a softer consistency & unlike most western desserts, is served with the main course and not after.

You will be amazed to find how easy it is to make this most delicious of desserts.

Ingredients

• Greek Yogurt- 11/2 - 2 cups
• Sugar- 1/4- 1/2 cup
• Warm milk- 2 tbsp
• Cardamom powder- 1 pinch
• Nutmeg- 1 pinch
• Charoli nuts to garnish- 1 tbsp
• Saffron strands- Generous pinch
• Salt- a very small pinch

Method

1. Hang the Greek yoghurt for sometime till the water drains out. Lightly beat the yoghurt till smooth & has a creamy consistency.

Greek yoghurt makes the life so much more simple not just because of the facts- 1 cup of fat free Greek yogurt has about 20 gms protein.

Moreso because it has the perfect consistency and tartness that the yoghurt needs for shrikhand.

If you don’t have Greek styled yogurt, use plain yogurt & hang up in a clean muslin cloth for at least 4-5 hours (preferably overnight). Discard the whey. Use this thick yogurt for the recipe. Alternatively put the yoghurt in a large sieve lined with a double lining of kitchen towels and refrigerate. I find this the best way to remove all the whey from the yoghurt.

2. Warm the milk. Pour into a small bowl, add the saffron, give it a quick stir and let it sit for about 5 minutes.

3. Add sugar and mix well, whisk gently & pass through a sieve so that there are no lumps .

4. Mix in the cardamom powder and nutmeg into the yoghurt. Stir to mix.

Go very easy on cardamom powder and use the nutmeg very very sparingly. Remember, with these two, a little goes a long way.

5. Mix in the saffron milk, and reserve a few stands to garnish on top. Chill to infuse flavours and serve.

There are many ways of serving Shrikhand. Another very famous recipe is Amrakhand, where mango pulp is mixed with the yoghurt.

Whatever the addition, the result is always the same. Yum.