Satiate your sweet cravings this festive summer week with a traditional healthy, homemade dessert that’s one of India’s most popular summer time sweet treats.
The season’s first Shrikhand – entirely homemade, a chilled, creamy & delicious sweet- low in carbs, high on protein, contains no preservatives & is a must-have in almost every Maharashtrian or Gujarati celebration in Western India!
What’s more, this is so easy for anyone to make at home with a slight bit of advance preparation.
Dollops of creamy hung curd, sweetened & blended with aromatic pure saffron & cardamom infused milk. Bejeweled with assorted nuts & rose petals just to add that extra glow & sparkle to your meals!
Anytime is Shrikhand time in a Maharashtrian household! Each Friday when we called to inform my Ajji (grandmother) that we would be dropping in for Sunday lunch, she would customarily ask each one of us what we wanted to eat, knowing fully well that we kids knew nothing & loved nothing more than her homemade Shrikhand. You see, there was no practice of buying store-bought sweet-meats in my childhood as it is today.
Every traditional festival or birthday celebration meant homemade Shrikhand, be it Cardamom or Saffron flavoured one time or Mango flavoured another. And being children, we always got served first & the largest dollops, without any restrictions! What carefree times those were, without any worries of sugar-free, dairy-free, or any cholesterol concerns! What’s more, before leaving, we also sweet-talked Ajji into packing the leftovers for us to carry home. Oooh we just couldn’t have enough!
Give this simple dessert a try- enjoy chilled with deep fried hot puris & a garma garam traditional boiled potato veggie which I will share with you shortly.
There you have it- a classic Maharashtrian festive meal ready to be devoured by your already-salivating-with-the-aroma-by-now, hungry family!
Recipe for Kesar Shrikhand – Greek Yoghurt Sweet
Ingredients (Serves 4 persons)
- 2 kg fresh plain curd / yoghurt, unsweetened to be hung overnight to drip off whey
- 8 to 9 tablespoons powdered sugar or as per your taste
- ½ teaspoon cardamom powder or 4 to 5 green cardamoms – crushed fine
- 10-15 saffron strands
- 2 tablespoons warm milk
- 7 to 8 pistachios or almonds (assorted nuts) chopped (approx. 2 – tbsp)
- Rose petals for garnish
Procedure
To make hung curd
- Place a large muslin cloth into a large bowl. Pour the curd into the cloth. Pick up the 4 corners of the cloth and tie at the top.
- Hang from a kitchen sink tap to drain as shown in the video for at least 10-12 hours or overnight. This will yield approx. 900 ml of hung curd.
- Gently press and you will see the whey dripping.
- If you have a hook, you can also hang the muslin in your refrigerator.
- It is advisable to use a deep bowl below, so that there is some distance between the hung cloth and the collected whey below to prevent the whey touching the strainer.
- Store covered & use the nutrient-rich whey in your everyday food like preparing chapatis, gravies, dal, pulao etc.
- With a silicon spatula, collect the hung curd in a container & proceed to make the shrikhand.
To make Shrikhand with homemade hung curd
- Take warm milk in a small bowl & add 15 saffron strands. Stir and keep aside to cool.
- Take the chakka or hung curd in a bowl & add the saffron infused milk and powdered sugar.
- Using an electric beater, whip the hung curd for 3-4 minutes till smooth & the sugar dissolves completely. Check the taste and add more sugar if required.
- Add in chopped assorted dry fruits & mix well again.
- Chill the shrikhand in your fridge covered for atleast 1-2 hours before serving.
- Garnish with rose petals or some more pistachios & serve chilled with hot puris.
Note:
- For best results use fresh unsweetened plain yoghurt for this recipe that is not sour.
- Use powdered jaggery instead of refined sugar for a healthier option.
- Add shrikhand to tarts and cheesecakes for a unique Indianised treat.
The Culinary Konnoisseur 
You have imaginatively, made Shrikhand from the difficult one into very super easy recipe.
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Thank you!
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This is something I absolutely love! Thank you Amrita. Will definitely follow your “super easy recipe” as per your Mom!
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Thank you so much! Shubho Nabo Borsho to you!
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