Saturday, January 8, 2011

Shrikhand

Shrikhand is a popular sweet dish from Gujarat, India. Its preparation is quite simple, but it takes time to process the ingredients.


You will need to begin with an amount of strained plain yoghurt. (To view how to make your own strained yoghurt, click here.)


For this recipe, I used the amount of strained yoghurt yielded from 2 L of homemade yoghurt. (To view the method for making homemade yoghurt, click here.) This amount of yoghurt will create enough shrikhand for approximately 6-8 servings.


Begin to whisk the yoghurt with some icing sugar. The amount of icing sugar needed will depend on the tartness of the yoghurt and your personal taste. It should taste lightly sweet with a little bit of tartness.


As this is an East Indian dish, spices are required. In a mortar and pestle, grind 10 cardamom pods into a fine powder. Be sure to remove the tough outer husks. If using previously-ground cardamom powder, you will require approximately 1/2 a teaspoon.


You will also require a couple of pinches of saffron. Grind the saffron between your thumb and forefinger. Remember that a little goes a long way!


Add the spices to the whipped yoghurt and give it a whirl.


You will need to chill this mixture before serving it. Waiting a little while will allow the spices to infuse their flavours into the dessert. You will notice that as it sits, the saffron will begin to bleed a beautiful orange colour into the yoghurt.


Once ready, give the mixture another quick turn. Serve it in individual glasses and top it with some crushed pistachio nuts and slivered almonds.


This dessert is creamy, simple and delightful.

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