Ganesh Chaturthi special: Shrikhand

Shrikhand is a sweet curd specialty from India. As we all know, the festive extravaganza ‘Ganesh Chaturthi’ is here again. It is the best time to please your beloved Ganpati with his one of the favourite festive treats to seek his choicest blessings.

Devotees have already brought home beautifully sculpted and painted Ganesh idols. Sweet shops have lined their counters with a delicious variety of sweet dishes. Why not prepare Ganesha’s bhog in our own kitchen? Besides modaks and laddoos, a popular bhog offered to Lord Ganesha is Shrikhand. It is a very tempting sweet dish loved by Ganpatiji. The rich delicacy is prepared by straining thick fresh yogurt and adding nuts and raisins to it.

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Serves: 10

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

Greek yogurt               1 kg

Milk                               ¼ cup

Saffron strands            20

Sugar                              15 tbsp (powdered sugar)

Pistachios                       3 tbsp (chopped)

Almonds                          3 tbsp (chopped)

Cashews                           1 tbsp (chopped)

Raisins                               3 tbsp

Cardamoms (green)        3

Method:

Whip well Greek yogurt in a big bowl to a smooth consistency.

Soak 10 saffron strands in ¼ cup of milk for an hour.

Add the saffron coloured orange milk and powdered sugar to the beaten yogurt. Mix well.

Add pistachios, almonds, cashews and raisins. Mix all ingredients well.

Pour in a clear glass serving bowl.

Refrigerate for two hours or until chilled.

Garnish with freshly crushed green cardamoms and serve putting one to two strands of saffron in each small bowl on the top.

If you don’t get Greek yogurt, you can make your own hung curd that is the main ingredient of this dish. Hang fresh, thick and fatty curd in a muslin cheese cloth for two to three hours to separate water content from the yogurt. Beat it well in a deep container with a serving spoon.