Shrikhand

Shrikhand is a popular dessert in Western India. It is made of hung curd / yogurt sweetened with sugar , flavored with saffron and cardamom and garnished with nuts.

It is a rich and creamy dessert and a  part of the meal in Gujarati weddings. Shrikhand can be enjoyed as a dessert or can be served alongside Poori [Fried Indian bread] .

It is so simple to prepare and needs no cooking at all. This is the type of recipe to choose when you have a party as this can be made ahead and refrigerated. This is also a great dish to whip up when you have unexpected guest and need a rich and creamy dessert to finish off the meal.

Greek yogurt
Sugar – To taste
Cardamom powder- a small pinch
Saffron – a few stands soaked in a tablespoon of warm milk.
Finely chopped nuts to garnish

1. Take the yogurt in a bowl.
2. Add the sugar and combine .
3. Put in the powdered cardamom, half of the nuts and the saffron soaked in milk. I choose to add the saffron later.
4. Mix well and refrigerate.
5. Before serving, mix again and garnish with the remaining nuts.

It tastes best when it is served chilled.

• In case you don’t have Greek yogurt, here is what you can do.Take the yogurt in cheesecloth and tie up the ends. Hang above your sink so that the water from the yogurt drains out completely. Depending on the thickness of the yogurt, it may take anywhere between 1 hour to several hours. Discard the whey. Follow from step 2.

• You can also use Low fat / Fat free Greek yogurt if you want to enjoy a guilt free dessert.

Relish it as a dessert or serve it with Poori .

Another variation of this simple Shrikhand is Amrakhand also known as Mango Shrikhand. The process is the same, except that mango pulp is added in step 3. The addition on mango pulp makes it all the more delicious.

Amrakhand / Mango Shrikhand

Nowadays, there are several variations in this traditional recipe, like the addition of fresh fruit chunks, strawberry shrikhand etc.

This recipe is going to be featured in the International Recipe Advent calendar 2010 .Here you will have 24 festive dishes from across the world. Do visit it daily as a new recipe will be added every day.

Bon Appetit…