(Thick, creamy, sweet hung curd)

A small girl asks to keep her Shrikhand, in a bowl on the table, so she can keep licking it all day! That was me a few years ago… in love with this luscious dessert! I remember how my mother hung the curd in a muslin cloth to make the chakka…how we eagerly waited for the shrikhand to be ready. Fast-forward a few years, and I am still doing that- waiting to lick the shrikhand when it gets ready! However, there is a role reversal… It’s me who makes shrikhand with my daughter now. She loves to make it and puts her heart into doing so. It gives me immense pleasure to see both of my kids lick it from the bowl, just as I did as a kid!

Obviously, I am super excited to share a simple version of this recipe with you. Shrikhand is a traditional Maharashtrian sweet dish that has been around for ages! This recipe uses minimal ingredients to create something that’s magical. Do try this recipe and let me know in the comments section below how you liked it!

RECIPE VIDEO

Ingredients

For the Shrikhand -

• 2 liters full-fat milk

• 2 tbsp buttermilk

• 3.5 cups powdered sugar

• 1/4 cup milk

• few saffron strands

• chopped nuts(optional)

For the garnish -

• Chopped nuts of your choice(optional)

Method

• Heat full-fat milk and let it cool down a bit. Remove the thick fat layer from the top. You can use that fat if you like it.

• Add a little buttermilk to the warm milk and set it aside to make curd. After a few hours (the time depends on a lot of factors) check if the curd is set. Roughly it takes 7-8 hours for the curd to set properly.

• Once the curd is ready, keep a muslin cloth over a bowl(see recipe video above), and transfer the curd to it.

• Squeeze out excess water from the curd. Hang this muslin cloth somewhere. The water from the curd will start dripping down. Collect this water in the bowl placed directly below the hung muslin cloth.

• Keep this cloth hanging overnight or for 7-8 hours.

• After 7-8 hours, most water has separated from the curd, and we get thick hung curd in the cloth. This is called ‘chakka’ in the Marathi language. Chakka is the base for making shrikhand.

• Transfer this chakka to a big bowl.

• Add saffron strands to warm milk and keep it aside for 10 minutes. The saffron strands impart a beautiful yellow color to the milk.

• Add powdered sugar, chopped nuts, and milk with saffron strands to the chakka. Mix everything well by stirring continuously with a whisk.

• Stir till all the sugar properly dissolves in the chakka. You should have no lumps.

• Top it up with some chopped nuts of your choice.

• Refrigerate it for 2-3 hours before serving. But don’t forget to lick it first!

SHRIKHAND IS READY TO BE SERVED!
SERVE COLD.

Notes -

• You can add cardamom powder, and nutmeg powder to the shrikhand if you like.

• The curd used for this recipe has to be sweet. So, use it immediately after it sets. If you plan to make the chakka later, refrigerate this curd and then use it. If the curd sits outside for too long, it turns sour.

• You can use store-bought thick yogurt/greek yogurt too.

• The amount of sugar you add depends upon how sweet you like your shrikhand. Feel free to adjust the quantity as per your liking.

• You can refrigerate this shrikhand for upto 8-10 days and relish it every day.

Did you make this recipe?
Kindly let me know in the comments section below and tag @bitesandbokeh on INSTAGRAM.