Preparation time: 15 minutes | Difficulty level: Easy
An all-time summer favorite, I remember Mom making lots and lots of Shrikhand (sweetened Indian yogurt with saffron, cardamom and pistachios) and serving us a scoop of it in waffle cones on warm summer afternoons as a healthier alternative to ice creams, kulfis and popsicles. As a variation, she would occasionally make Amrakhand (with mangoes) or Strawberry-khand (with strawberries) instead of the conventional ingredients to make for a refreshing change.
Ingredients
8-12 fresh strawberries
4 cups fresh plain yogurt or Indian dahi
1 cup sugar
Method
- Tie the yogurt in a cheese cloth (or a thin handkerchief or scarf) and tie this in a bundle suspended from a sink tap. Alternatively, you may keep it in a perforated container or colander so there is room for the water to drip off. Leave for 5-6 hours or overnight.
- Cut the strawberries into small pieces about 1 cm cubes, chopping off the stems.
- Add the sugar to these strawberries and let it sit for a couple of hours.
- When the sugar begins to liquefy, simmer this mixture in a saucepan till it begins to boil, forming a strawberry-syrup.
- Turn off the heat and let this syrup cool down.
- Open the cheesecloth and remove the yogurt (now converted into chakka after draining away the water) in a mixing bowl and add the strawberry syrup to it.
- Mix well and let it sit in the refrigerator for 4-5 hours.
Helpful Tips:
- Making a syrup of the strawberries by simmering them helps preserve the strawberries. Some people prefer to add fresh strawberries, but this will give the shrikhand a sour tang. Also, the water content will reduce the shelf-life of the strawberries.
- Chopping strawberries into pieces makes the shrikhand chunky. If you do not like it chunky, you may run the strawberries through a blender before adding them to the sugar.
- For added taste, you can garnish with finely chopped almonds and pistachios, although this does not always go well with the strawberry flavor.
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