Srikhand
Srikhand and Gudi Padwa are synonymous with each other. Gudi Padwa is the festival for making Srikhand in Maharashtra where I grew up. It is already scorching hot during the months of March and April and is the best time to consume chilled Srikhand with hot puffed up puris. Some make puranpolis on Padwa, some make aamras puri but in our house, it has always been srikhand! Mouthwatering, right?
As a kid, I have seen my grandmother and mother buying the chakka from our doodhwala bhaiyya the day before the festival and getting all ready for the big meal. Chakka is the thick concentrated hung yoghurt or dahi, as we call it back home, made by straining the whey from the yogurt. Later, we started buying srikhand and amrakhand from Anant Halwai – a shop in our town which is known for its quality sweets, for the ocassion. No matter what, we made sure that srikhand was served on our plates on the auspicious day of Gudi Padwa.
The process is quite simple:- Take a big muslin cloth or an unused handkerchief and tie the yoghurt in it from all ends and hang it over another vessel to collect the whey OR keep the tied yoghurt in a strainer over a vessel and keep some weight over the yoghurt to help it drain faster.
However, things have simplified quite a bit now and I buy the Greek yoghurt here in Seoul to make our favourite dessert. Thanks to it, Srikhand now can be prepared quickly in just around 15 minutes and is delicious as ever.
Ingredients for Shrikhand
Greek yogurt – 1600 gms (2 boxes of 800 gms)
Powdered white sugar – around 1.5 cup, or as needed.
1.5 tsp of powdered cardamom
A generous or two pinches of saffron soaked in 2-3 tbsp of hot milk
1/3rd cup of chopped dry fruits – slivered almonds, pistachios and rose petals
Shrikhand Recipe:
Hang the greek yogurt in a piece of cloth or handkerchief and leave it in a strainer over a vessel overnight or for atleast 2-3 hours. You can place some weight on the tied yogurt to help it strain faster. If you plan to strain the yoghurt overnight, then place it in the refrigerator to avoid over fermentation
(Collect the whey from the vessel and you can use it to make the chapati dough. The chapatis turn out really soft. Try it).
Collect the strained thick yoghurt or chakka in a wide-mouthed vessel like a bowl or kadhai. The chakka should be thick and should be able to retain its shape after mixing it with a spoon. It should be a bit tangy (not sour) due to fermentation and not bland.
Add to it powdered sugar in parts (not all at once) and mix well. The sugar to chakka ratio should be about 1:3. Check the sugar and add as per your taste. Add the cardamom powder, saffron milk and mix well. However, refrain from making it overly sweet as it will spoil the tangy taste of srikhand.
Garnish with nuts, rose petals and refrigerate it till chilled. Serve with hot pooris or chapatis or just as it is and enjoy the creamy dessert.
Check out some more traditional recipes apt for a festival day below: