Maharashtrian · Indian Cuisine

Shrikhand

Name: Shrikhand
Prep time: 15 minutes active (plus 8 hours or overnight draining)
Cook time: 0 minutes
Total time: 8 hours 15 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 1 kg full-fat plain yogurt, not Greek yogurt; use regular full-fat dahi; 400 g chakka (hung yogurt), drained from 1kg yogurt; 150 g icing sugar (powdered sugar), sifted, adjusted to taste; 1 g saffron strands, bloomed in 2 tbsp warm milk for 15 minutes; 5 g cardamom powder, ground from 6–7 green cardamom pods, or pre-ground; 20 g pistachios, slivered or roughly chopped, divided; 20 g blanched almonds, slivered, divided

Maharashtra's Silkiest Festival Dessert — Hung Yogurt, Saffron, and Patience

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Jump to Recipe

Shrikhand asks almost nothing of you except time. There is no cooking involved, no technique more demanding than whisking, and yet the result is one of the most texturally satisfying desserts in the Indian repertoire: dense and creamy as the richest cheesecake, laced with saffron's faint metallic sweetness, perfumed with cardamom, and punctuated by the gentle resistance of pistachios. It looks simple. It is simple. But the simplicity is the whole point.

The dessert belongs to Maharashtra and Gujarat both, where it appears at festivals, weddings, and the celebration meal of Gudhi Padwa (Maharashtrian New Year). In Gujarat it is often served alongside hot puris. The combination of deep-fried bread dipped into chilled sweet yogurt is one of those pairings that sounds unlikely until you try it. In Maharashtra, it tends to appear at the end of a thali, a small cold serving to close a large warm meal.

The base is chakka: hung yogurt from which all whey has been drained through muslin cloth until it is thick as cream cheese. The quality of your chakka determines everything. Use full-fat yogurt, hang it overnight in the refrigerator, and don't rush the draining. Yogurt that has released all its whey will whisk to a smooth, glossy cream. Yogurt that hasn't will remain slightly grainy no matter how long you whisk.

The practical insight: bloom the saffron in warm (not hot) milk for at least 15 minutes before adding it. Saffron releases its color and fragrance gradually, and if you add it to cold chakka immediately, it will streak rather than infuse. The result should be an even, warm-toned golden cream, not white yogurt with orange threads.

At a Glance

Yield

4 servings

Prep

15 minutes active (plus 8 hours or overnight draining)

Cook

0 minutes

Total

8 hours 15 minutes

Difficulty

Easy

Ingredients

4 servings

2¼ lbfull-fat plain yogurt, not Greek yogurt; use regular full-fat dahi
1 lbchakka (hung yogurt), drained from 1kg yogurt
¾ cupicing sugar (powdered sugar), sifted, adjusted to taste
¼ ozsaffron strands, bloomed in 2 tbsp warm milk for 15 minutes
2½ tspcardamom powder, ground from 6–7 green cardamom pods, or pre-ground
¾ ozpistachios, slivered or roughly chopped, divided
¾ ozblanched almonds, slivered, divided

Method

1
Hang the yogurt (8 hours or overnight). Line a large colander with a double layer of clean muslin cloth (cheesecloth) or a clean thin cotton cloth. Pour in the yogurt. Gather the corners of the cloth and tie them together. Suspend over a bowl in the refrigerator: hang the bundle from a shelf with the bowl beneath to catch the whey, or simply set the colander over the bowl. Refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. The yogurt will lose roughly half its weight in whey. What remains is the chakka. Thick, dense, and slightly tangy. Do not try to rush this by squeezing the cloth.
2
Bloom the saffron. Place the saffron strands (1 g) in a small bowl. Heat 2 tablespoons of milk until warm. Not boiling, just warm to the touch. Pour over the saffron. Leave to steep for at least 15 minutes. The milk will turn a deep golden-orange and the saffron aroma will become pronounced.
3
Transfer chakka to a bowl. Remove the chakka from the muslin and transfer to a large mixing bowl. Break it up with a spatula. It will look like very firm yogurt or soft cream cheese.
4
Whisk until smooth. Using a whisk or a hand mixer on medium speed, beat the chakka for 2–3 minutes until completely smooth, creamy, and glossy. Any remaining graininess should disappear.
5
Add sugar. Sift the icing sugar (150 g) directly over the chakka in three additions, whisking well after each. Continue whisking for a full 5 minutes, longer than seems necessary. The shrikhand should become noticeably silkier and lighter as you whisk. Taste for sweetness; adjust if needed.
6
Add saffron and cardamom. Pour the bloomed saffron milk, strands and all, into the shrikhand and whisk to combine. The color will shift to a warm, pale gold. Add the cardamom powder (5 g) and whisk again. The aroma at this point is extraordinary.
7
Fold in half the nuts. Add half the slivered pistachios (20 g) and half the almonds and fold gently with a spatula to distribute.
8
Chill. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours, or up to overnight. Cold shrikhand is significantly better than shrikhand served immediately. The flavours meld and the texture becomes even denser and more set.
9
Serve. Spoon into individual serving bowls or small cups. Garnish with the remaining slivered pistachios and almonds. A few additional saffron strands on top is a traditional finishing touch.