Shrikand

Shrikand

If there is a dish that intrigued me yet made me very wary of trying was shrikand. It is an incredibly simple dish so it was not the process of making it or the work involved that made me hesitant but the actual combination of flavour. I am not a sweet lassi person so combining sugar with yogurt was not really for me. Yet, I once gathered the willingness and enthusiasm to give this a shot. It was Gokulashtami and that seemed like a good occasion to try this. Being a food blogger now, I do feel I have some sort of self imposed responsibility to try a variety of food and make as many as possible in a practical and sustainable way. The first time I made this, I made just enough for one person really and the recipe for that is below. For each additional serving, add another 500g yogurt and required sugar and more saffron. It is hard to believe how much of a difference in texture and flavour the process of hanging the yogurt can bring in. Ideally, try to use greek yogurt but that said, I made it with low fat yogurt and it still came out yummy. When blending the sugar make sure only to pulse the hung yogurt and sugar as if you just blend it through, you will lose the lovely texture of the hung yogurt. Refrigerate for sometime before serving as that helps infuse he saffron’s flavour. Trust me, it made so much difference when I ate this out of an earthen pot. The pot brings a lovely aroma and also imparts some chillness, oh just heavenly!

500g yogurt

2 tablespoon sugar

A pinch of saffron

1 tablespoon milk

Few chopped nuts

Pour the yogurt into a clean white towel or even thick kitchen towel and place on a sieve with a bowl underneath. You are making hung yogurt in simple terms. Leave it for about 2-3 hours or even overnight in the refrigerator

 Heat the milk and add saffron strands and allow it to sit for ten minutes or so. This is to bring out the saffron’s flavour

Pulse the hung yogurt with sugar and saffron in a blender/food processor

Garnish with nuts and serve chilled!