Shrikhand

Shrikhand is a popular Maharashtrian dessert, made primarily of yogurt (curds) and sugar. It's a delicacy savored at various festivities throughout the year. The traditional method of making it is long and tedious, but with the use of a little "technology" (sarcasm intended ;-) ), it is possible to make this quicker and with less effort.

This is one of the recipes ``optimized'' by me. The chief process in the making of shrikhand is separating the whey from yogurt. The traditional way of doing this, is by pouring the yogurt into a thin muslin cloth and tying it above the sink for long hours, typically overnight. The resulting yogurt minus whey is called chakkaa (pr: chuck-kaah).

Since there is never enough time to plan so much ahead, I use modern conveniences to get the whey out as fast as possible. The answer is kitchen towels.

Serves: 3-4 average persons (or 1 real foodie.)

Stays for: 2-3 days refrigerated (though it usually doesn't typically last more than a few minutes).

Ingredients

• 2 lbs Yogurt
• ½ lb Fine-grain Sugar:
• ½ tsp Saffron
• 2 tsp Milk
• 1 tsp Cardamom Powder
• Blanched almonds, cut into strips (as per taste)
• Pistachios (as per taste)

Procedure

1. Spread 5-6 layers of kitchen towels on a flat tray. Pour yogurt, then cover with another 5-6 layers. Press hard so the towel absorbs whey. Replace with fresh towels until most of the whey has been removed. Yogurt should be dry enough to not stick to the paper towels.
2. Mix in the sugar, stirring constantly so that the sugar mixes in completely. No lumps should be formed. (A hand blender turns out handy.)
3. Crush the saffron strands in a few (1-2) spoonfuls of milk, until the milk gets a distinctive yellowish-orange color.
4. Add the saffron-flavored milk & cardamom to the shrikhand.
5. Garnish with pistachios and some more saffron strands.
6. Serve chilled!