Every home has their share of traditional recipes passed down to them from their older generations. I am no different this simple little dessert has been made in my home and my husband's home since ages which is called SHRIKHAND. It's basically a strained thick yogurt called as (hung curd) mixed with saffron, sugar, cardamom, pistachios & almonds. Back home it use to be made on several special occasions or lunch gatherings & even on some Sundays as a dessert you enjoyed with hot puris (puffed bread).
Yes, I said use to as now almost everyone gets it ready made from the shops which saves time because the recipe is time consuming. You would need to strain the yogurt for almost 7-8 hours before you can make this yummy delight. So thought let me make a version that is quick and easy that anyone can whip up in no time. I recreated this traditional recipe from my home with a little modern touch and the results were amazing. The inspiration from this came from a sweet shop in my hometown which serves variety of flavored SHRIKHAND, mango being the most dominating as its sweet taste goes well with yogurt. To my surprise so does BLUEBERRY as its sweet and sour tastes incorporated beautifully in my recipe. You know what the most appealing after the taste it was the beautiful PURPLE COLOR of this shrikhand which is absolutely natural from the berry and unlike the harsh chemical food coloring.
Last time I tried this BLUEBERRY SHRIKHAND was in India and since then I was intrigued by the unique combination of flavors. Now there is no rocket science to making this its really really easy as I took a shortcut. I used GREEK YOGURT which is very similar to hung curd, except its more fluid in consistency so you can easily eat it without having that thick heavy texture that original shrikhand has. I also added a little twist and made BLUEBERRY COMPOTE to give it a little twist which excelled my expectations. So without further delays here is a list of ingredients and recipe to make it.
PUT IN FREEZER for 30-45 mins before you serve for best taste. You can actually make this before you cook your meals so it will be nice and cold till dessert time or if you want to serve it the traditional way with Dry Potato Sabzi and Hot Puris like I did it will do more than fine.
COOK TIME- 15 MINS PREP TIME- 30 MINS SERVES- 3
Ingredients
1.5 Cups Greek Yogurt (I used FAGE regular- no flavor)
1 Table spoon Heavy cream
1/4 Tea spoon cardamom seeds (powdered)
1 pinch of Nutmeg powder
1/4 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/2 cup Granulated Sugar (add 1/3 cup for less sweetness)
less then 1/2 cup of roasted Pistachios seeds sliced fine or roughly crushed
For blue berry compote
2 cups blueberries frozen or fresh
(if using frozen do not thaw)
1 tea spoon lemon juice
1/3 Cup Sugar (add little more if you like more sweet)
2-3 tablespoon water
*So will start by making BLUEBERRY COMPOTE. In a pan add 1 cup of blueberries, lemon juice, sugar and water and cover and let it cook till blueberries are completely cooked and becomes like a thick sauce. Add the rest of the cup of blueberries few spoons water if required and let it cook they are little soft to mash. Mix well. The compote should be medium thick consistency. Taste test now and it should taste like a berry jam (somewhere between sweet and sour)
*Take out in a bowl and let it cool off completely. For faster cooling you can even put it in the freezer for about 15-20 mins.
*Take the greek yogurt in a separate bowl(it should be cold) and add in the rest of the ingredients and fold everything well till sugar is dissolved. Chill for about 15 mins and then just add the cold blueberry compote and again put in the fridge if you like it colder or you can just serve it as is. Enjoy with hot puris or by itself. SLIDE BELOW FOR PICS.
