Shreekhand - Shortcut way with Greek Yogurt

Cooking something for Diwali is always Tricky. It should be light on stomach ( since everyone is so full of eating sweets and heavy snack ), should be delicious ( goes without saying) and above all, it should be stand out from the usual stuff (it’s being Diwali !! ).. Puts an unnecessary pressure on  me and I always end up making something which is lacking in  atleast one of the three parameters above.

Like this time, I was so adamant to make Gulkand Shrikhand since the day I got to taste it at Preeti’s home. We were there for a Brainstorming session for our upcoming event – Bloggers Buzz UK. Ohh ! And by the way, if you haven’t heard of this event,  take a sneak peek here at the dedicated blog Page, and also @ Facebook and Twitter. The fun has just started with a bang and Brands like Total Greek Yogurt, Hotel Chocolate, Dream Cakes and Popchips are coming up together as Sponsors for this Grand ( a bit ! ) venture of ours. Look out  the Blog space for more details, and if you are somewhere near London, or even in the UK.. This is an event you must not miss….

Coming back to Shrikhand… Yes, I was telling you that since the day I had this at Preeti’s home, I got so hooked up with the taste.  But the method of preparing this exquisite delicacy was a bit time taking, since it requires hanging the Curd for at least for 5-6 hours before mixing in with flavours, else the thick consistency is not achieved. I chose the shortcut method and bought 2 pots of Greek Yogurt, the fat free version. Though it was not the traditional  texture, thick and creamy, yet I got the pleasure of making the healthy Yogurt dessert I was longing to make for long.

The thing which went wrong after all the hard work and too much patience held for all day, was I stirred the Yogurt a bit too much in the advent of mixing the flavours well. Little did I  know, all this extra hard work will  not do good to the genuine Authentic texture of the Dessert. Nevertheless, our friends enjoyed this as a refreshing pre-meal drink/dessert along with starters and appetizers. Since for Dessert, I had Kaju Katli ready too ;)

What you need ?

• 2 cup of fresh Curd ( not the sour one)
• ½ cup fine Sugar
• ¼ cup Gulkand ( sweetened rose petals preserve )
• 1 tbsp Rose Sharbat/ flavoured Drink – For garnishing (optional)
• 2 tbsp Pistachios – chopped fine
• 1 tsp Rose Essence
• A pinch of Nutmeg

How to Make?

• Pour in the fresh Curd into a Muslin/cotton Cloth and hang in tied for 5-6 hours or overnight. I have seen people hanging it around their kitchen sink tap overnight, so that might be a good idea. I am going to  try it myself next time.
• When you open the cloth, it should be very thick, almost like Paneer textured Yogurt present in that piece.
• Mix all the above ingredients into it gently. Be careful, not to stir it too much and vigorously. It should be gentle swirling round.
• Keep in Refrigerator for atleast 4-5 hours, to serve it shilled. Garnish with chopped nuts and rose syrup before serving.

My Notes:

• Curd must be freshly made, else it will not taste good for this
• If you don’t have fine Sugar, you can grind the one you have to a finer variety, or simply use Boora
• I have no idea why we use Nutmeg, but its used in the traditional recipe and off course a hint of it does taste great
• You can also use fresh Rose petals for garnishing, they look really good

While we are discussing Greek Yogurt here,  I would like to pay our heartiest Gratitude to Total Greek Yogurt for sponsoring an important Part of Our Event - Bloggers Buzz. This Yogurt really is luxurious and creamy and still boasts 0% Fat. I am highly impressed with the results ! You dont believe me, have a look at the picture below: 

Please see more details about their current campaigns on Bloggers Buzz Blog Page, hope to see you there in Feb .. :)

Linking to the events -
Spotlight - Raksha bandhan