Shrikhand is a sweet and slightly sour dessert made from strained yogurt that is native to the cuisines of the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat. Growing up in Mumbai it was the dessert I enjoyed most frequently. It is usually prepared from a thick yogurt which is traditionally made by straining yogurt to remove the whey and then flavoring and sweetening the thickened yogurt. We usually bought it at the local sweet mart, but occasionally my sister made it at home. I can very clearly remember her going through the process of removing all the whey from the yogurt using a cheesecloth. Then she hung up the cheesecloth over the kitchen sink, tying it to the faucet to allow the remaining whey to drip out. And finally, she would pass the strained yogurt through a sieve to smoothen it. The secret behind the quick version is to use Greek yogurt!
Too bad we’d never heard of Greek yogurt in India; I (naively) assumed that there existed only one kind of yogurt in the entire world – Indian yogurt. I’m glad I was wrong! Greek yogurt is already strained and thick to being with and is perfect to make the quick version of Shrikhand. Greek yogurt is transformed into Shrikhand with the magic of the flavors of cardamom powder and saffron. I will also post the traditional preparation of Shrikhand soon.
Ingredients
1 cup Plain Greek Yogurt
3 tbsp Sugar (preferably in powdered form and not crystals so it mixes well with the yogurt)
1/4 tsp Cardamom Powder
1-2 tsp nuts for garnish (sliced or crushed Almonds or Pistachios)
1 tbsp Sour Cream (optional)
Pinch of Saffron
Recipe Notes: Sugar can be substituted with the equivalent quantity of Splenda (conversion chart) or Truvia (conversion chart). The sour cream is added to make the Shrikhand a little sour; feel free to skip it if you don’t have any readily available.
Servings: 2
Preparation
Prepare the cardamom powder, if you don’t have any at hand. Crush the cardamoms in a mortar and pestle and separate the skins (you can add them to Masala Chai).
Crush the saffron strands and soak them in 1 tbsp of warm water.
In a bowl, mix the sugar and Greek yogurt and mix well with a whisk until the sugar is completely dissolved. Add the cardamom powder and saffron water and mix them in.
Chill the Shrikhand in the fridge for at least an hour and serve garnished with the crushed almonds or pistachios.
- 1 cup Plain Greek Yogurt
- 3 tbsp Sugar (preferably in powdered form and not crystals so it mixes well with the yogurt)
- ¼ tsp Cardamom Powder
- 1-2 tsp nuts for garnish (sliced or crushed Almonds or Pistachios)
- 1 tbsp Sour Cream (optional)
- Pinch of Saffron
- Crush the saffron strands and soak them in 1 tbsp of warm water.
- In a bowl, mix the sugar and Greek yogurt and mix well with a whisk until the sugar is completely dissolved. Add the cardamom powder and saffron water and mix them in.
- Chill the Shrikhand in the fridge for at least an hour and serve garnished with the crushed almonds or pistachios.
Product Recommendations
Cheesecloth
Saffron
Leave a Reply