Kesar Shrikhand

Kesar Shrikhand is a delicious Indian dessert, made using hung yogurt or Greek yogurt. It is mildly sweet and very soothing to the palate in summer months.

Check more rich Indian desserts here like – rice kheer, rabri, malai kulfi.

In early December I was contacted by Rajesh of Saffron Direct, who wanted to share their fine quality of Saffron with me. Saffron Direct is based out of London.

Couple of weeks later, I got 4 g of Ruby, Finest Spanish Saffron quality from them. Upon opening the package only I could smell the very faint smell of saffron. This was potent stuff!

The package had 2 small boxes of 2g each. Since in Pune, winters are not severe, I did not foresee myself using so much saffron. Also the best shelf life of saffron with good care is 6 months. So I shared 2g of the saffron with Priyanka.

Initially, I wanted to make Risotto but Masterchef has spoiled it for me, making it sound like a big deal, so I shelved the idea and then decided to make Shrikhand. I have never made or rarely eaten a couple of spoons of it as I am not a fan of sweetened curd. There, my secret is out!

It is quite simple to make. The only big step is to drain the curd overnight. I used home-made curd. To skip the overnight wait, people tend to use Greek yogurt which is a very thick version but it is still not as good as hung curd.

Not to mention, the Shrikhand was a hit. I saved some to take for #PuneFoodiez for The Brooklyn Shuffle meet and Tes took the remaining with her happily.

Saffron Direct is a London-based firm engaged in distribution of finest quality saffron.

Print Recipe

Kesar Shrikhand

A yummy treat with goodness of saffron, curd & pistachios

Prep Time1 d

Total Time1 d

Servings: 6 bowls

Ingredients

• 6 cups yogurt curd
• 1 tsp kesar
• 1 tbsp warm milk
• ½ cup sugar superfine
• ½ tsp green cardamom seeds crushed
• 10-12 pistachios chopped

Instructions

• Cut 3 layers of cheesecloth into a 12" x 24" square.
• Put yogurt in middle of cheesecloth, bring up ends, and tie with kitchen twine. Tie cheesecloth-bound yogurt to the handle of a wooden spoon; set wooden spoon over a bowl. Chill yogurt and let drain overnight to a thicker consistency.
• I used my rolling pin and placed it in my refrigerator overnight with a bowl underneath.
• Combine saffron and milk and let steep for 30 minutes.
• Put drained yogurt into a bowl; stir in saffron mixture and sugar.
• Divide shrikhand between 6 small bowls and garnish with cardamom and pistachios.

Notes

minimally adapted from Saveur

You can leave the yogurt to drain outside as well but it leaves a slight tang to the curd. If you like it then go ahead and allow the curd to drain outside.

You can drain for 2-3 hours also if you are short on time but ideal is to hang it overnight.

You can use Greek curd to for instant version but it is not as thick as hung curd.