The Shrikhand recipe closes the holiday menu of the section “Building the Menu”
It is a dessert from the traditional Gujarati and Marathi Indian cuisine, made with yogurt cream, sugar, cardamom powder, and saffron. I used the one from ITS SHOP that you can purchase, in threads, on their website.
▶According to popular legend, it was invented by itinerant herders who, to transport their yogurt more easily during night travels, filtered its whey. Since the filtered yogurt turned sour in the morning, they mixed it with sugar and nuts to make it more palatable.
▶The classic Kesar Elaichi Shrikhand (saffron and cardamom strained yogurt dessert) was specifically created to celebrate the Gudi Padwa festival.
▶It is often served with soft Puri (fried bread), Batata bhaji (masala potatoes), and varan-bhath (dal-rice).
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 2 people
- Cooking methods: No cooking
- Cuisine: Indian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups yogurt
- 1 teaspoon saffron (or a few threads)
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 2 tablespoons hot water
- 1 3/4 oz powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon cardamom
- to taste almonds (chopped)
- to taste pistachios (chopped)
Steps
Squeeze the yogurt in a cloth with something heavy on top, or hang it.
Place in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
Mix the saffron with the milk, hot water, powdered sugar, and cardamom.
Add to the yogurt. Mix.
Garnish with chopped almonds and pistachios.
Serve.
FAQ
What is the Gudi Padwa festival?
It is a spring festival that marks the beginning of the traditional new year, mainly for the Marathi and Konkani Hindus, but also for other Hindus. It is celebrated in Maharashtra, Goa, Madhya Pradesh and in the union territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu at the start of Chaitra, the first month of the lunisolar Hindu calendar.
