Shrikhand - Sweet Indianized Greek Yogurt

Hello all of my friends out there…

It’s been a while… a long while… and a good while… since I have been blogging. I was on a break, a much needed break for seven weeks. I was in INDIA for 7 weeks. Since the last time I have been to India in July 2009, I have never had a real time off from work. It was getting very tough to keep myself sane with all the work and I needed this break so bad. I feel fresh, rejuvenated, and pampered!!!

My cousin was getting married in India; my bua’s daughter. We, basically, grew up together. We shared laughter and sorrows, played and studied together. She was my bride’s maid at my wedding so I had to attend her wedding at any cost. It was a good excuse for my much needed break. How I got 7 weeks off from work, you may ask. Well, I am now an entrepreneur! I have started my practice and will be working on a contract basis with my current employer. I am so looking forward to all the challenges that the entrepreneurship has to bring!

If you are an NRI, I don’t have to tell you how much fun it is to go back home. See all of your relatives, enjoy weddings, parties, and family re-unions, and munch on all the chatakedaar (tasty) and masaledaar (spicy) food. Pani-Puri tops the list, hands down.

This time round, I spent all of my time with my mother-in-law and learned a lot of things from her. I will be posting those recipes as I make them.

Coming to today’s recipe – Shrikhand. It is a must have in a Gujarati meal. It is also, sometimes, served as a sweet dish in Gujarati Thali. I basically call it a Sweet-Indianized Greek Yogurt. It is so easy to make and makes a really great sweet dish.

Ingredients

1. 4 pounds plain natural yogurt
2. 1 pound sour cream
3. one and half cup sugar
4. ½ tsp ground green cardamom seeds
5. 2-3 tbsp coarsely ground pistachios

Process

1. Place the yogurt and sour cream into a clean muslin cloth and tie it up tightly with a piece of string right above the top of the yogurt so that the water can drip away.

2. Tie the muslin somewhere where it can hang with a large bowl underneath to catch the water and leave it for 24 hours. Keep tipping away the water as the bowl fills up.

3. Remove the yogurt from the muslin and place it in a large bowl. Add the sugar and mix well.

4. Press the yogurt and sugar mixture through a fine-holed sieve to remove any lumps.

5. Mix in the cardamom powder, and half of the pistachios. Reserve some pistachios for garnishing later. Chill in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.

ENJOY!!!