I am not a person with a sweet tooth but as it happens often my daughter is.! So after years of hiatus from sweet recipes I am starting to poke my hand back into the dessert section.
Even though we love Indian main course and appetizers, almost always when I think of desserts I think Italian, American - Tiramisu, cakes, puddings and pies or the simple ice-cream! The two exceptions being Shrikhand (sweet thick yogurt with Saffron and nuts) and puran poli (sweet roti) both of which are Indian/Maharashtrian sweets our family loves.
The characteristics of a shrikhand is a thick yogurt which is usually achieved by tightly wrapped regular yogurt in a cheesecloth and hanging it in fridge using a spatula and a pan for hours until most of the water in the yogurt drips out and you are left with a thick shrikhand class yogurt.
However if you have access to greek yogurt, which now a days is available in pretty much all supermarkets, then the whole process of shrikhand becomes so much simpler! Greek yogurt is a very thick and creamy yogurt perfect for an instant shrikhand. I have made shrikhand with greek yogurt with and without the step of hanging the yogurt, and I can tell you for sure that in case of greek yogurt it does not make much difference. So please feel free to take the short route of instant shrikhand as long as you are using regular greek yogurt. If you use non-fat greek yogurt then you still need the step of hanging the yogurt in cheesecloth to remove all the water for better texture.
Recipe:
Serves 6
Ingredients:
32oz plain greek yogurt (if you use non-fat, texture may not be as thick but taste is just fine!)
1/2C sugar
1Tbsp warm milk
pinch of saffron
handful of chopped pistachio nuts
6 cardamom - crushed
Recipe:
Mix saffron in warm milk and set aside.
Mix yogurt with sugar and using a spoon blend together. Then add cardamom, chopped nuts and milk with saffron, mix together and chill for a few hours before serving.
While serving, add chopped nuts or strands of saffron for garnish.
Comments