Kesar (Saffron) Shrikhand

This is a favourite Indian dessert especially from Western states like Gujarat and Maharashtra. It is a must have sweet dish, eaten mostly as part of main course along with puris ( fried and puffy wheat bread) at weddings and festivals in many communities. I love to eat this dish as is (without bread) , whether its a festival or not and especially while we are away from our home land this luscious saffron yogurt makes any day a celebration.

Its Mahavir Jayanti today ( Jain Festival) and I had to stirr up this dessert to celebrate the day.

Ingredients ( makes 4 bowl)

- Plain yogurt made out of 1 litre low fat milk ( or get ready made plain low fat yogurt)

- 1 cup sugar

- 1 tsp roasted and powdered/pounded saffron

- 1/2 tsp cardamon powder
- 5-8 raosted and slivered pistachios for garnish

Alternate flavours

- Saffron and roasted almonds

- Mango pulp instead of saffron and cardamon

Steps

- Take a muslin cloth, place yogurt in the center and tie the ends of the cloth.

- Hang this cloth bag somewhere in the kitchen so that the water from the yogurt can easily strain out. Hang it for atleast 5 - 8 hours. You can also keep it overnight.

- After hanging you will get a heavy yogurt ( In India we also call it chakka, it is also yummy to eat it as is, with sugar or topping on fruits )

- Now take a big strainer and put a serving bowl below it. Add the heavy yogurt, sugar, saffron and cardamon powder in the strainer and start to slowly mix it while putting a gently pressure so that the mixture goes through the strainer.

- Taste the mixture below and add more sugar if you prefer.

- What you get below in the serving bowl is a smooth, luscious Saffron Shrikhand.

- Chill it in the fridge for few hours for better taste.

- Garnish with chopped pistachios.

yumm!

Lavender Yogurt

However cliched it may be but lavender flowers leads by huge margin amongst other herbs and flowers when it comes to imparting relaxation. lavender oils, incense and teas does wonders and takes you to a very soothing world after a long day. I came across very good quality dried Lavender flowers in the local produce market recently and I thought why not pick it up and stir up some recipes and get the spa sesation right at home.  

First recipe out of this batch of lavender is Lavender yogurt. We are a big consumer of low-fat home made yogurt and it helps us a lot to curb this summer heat in addition to being our protein source and aiding in digestion.

Ingredients

- 500 ml low-fat milk

- 1 tbsp yogurt

- 4 tsp sugar ( or sugar substitute)

- 1 tsp dried lavender flowers

- 2 tsp skimmed milk powder

- Fruit such as peach, mangoes, berries or make a fruit compote ( optional)

Steps

- Boil the milk in a thick pan

- Reduce the heat to medium, add laveder flowers and sugar to the milk and stir

- Let the milk boil for 5-7 mins at medium heat.

- Turn off the heat and let the milk cool for 15 mins

- Strain the milk and pour it into your yogurt bowl or individual serving bowls. Do not throw away the lavender flowers as you can use it again for other recipes.

- Mix yogurt and skimmed milk powder to the milk. ( skimmed milk powder gives thick texture and adds protein).

- Let it set for 6-8 hours in a warm place ( oven, incubator, or simply on a kitchen platform if you live in a warm place)

- Once the yogurt is set you can put it in the fridge for couple of hours before serving.

- Garnish it with your favourit garnish such as mint leaves, lavender flowers, fruits or fruit compote.

Relax and Enjoy!