Rajbhog Shrikhand
Rajbhog Shrikhand – thick creamy yogurt based Indian dessert made with minimal ingredients like whole milk yogurt, powdered sugar, hint of saffron and cardamom, nuts and tutti frutti!
Shrikhand is yogurt based Indian dessert, very well knows in Gujarat and Maharastra! Basically the idea is to strain the yogurt, called hung yogurt, and then sweeten it with powdered sugar, flavor it with cardamom and saffron then garnish it with choice of toppings like slivered nuts. This dessert pairs well with puffy puris, either plain puri or Masala Puri!
Rajbhog Shrikhand is one of the many different types of shrikhand you will find in different parts of India. It is very well knows in Surat, a city of Gujarat. Not only Rajbhog Shrikhand, Rajbhog Matho is also another well knows dessert of Surat. Shrikhand and Matho have same core ingredients, yogurt and sugar. The main difference between them is the consistency. Matho is a lighter/thinner version of Shrikhand. And it usually has fruits added to it. Mixed fruits matho is one of the most sought after desserts during summers. Shrikhand is thick creamy yogurt based dessert. If you have not tried matho yet, check out my Mango Matho recipe. It is simply delicious!
My mother in law used to say that Shrikhand should be thick and never slides down the spoon. I surely nailed the consistency of it and added my Surti touch to it!! Shrikhand consistency is highly dependent on how much you strain the liquids out of yogurt. Be sure to read the instructions below as part of the recipe to get the best texture and flavors! Hope you like it as much as me and my family do, tag me on Instagram @myvegetarianroots if you end up making it.
Happy & Healthy Eating!
Rajbhog Shrikhand
Ingredients
- 5 lb Whole Milk Yogurt Indian style full fat yogurt or plain full fat greek yogurt
- 2 tbsp Milk
- 10 Strings Saffron
- 1 cup Powdered Sugar
- ½ tsp Cardamom Powder
- 1 cup Sliver Nuts & raisins (almond, pistachio, cashews)
- ½ cup Tutti Frutti
Instructions
- Wrap yogurt in a cheese cloth, secure it well with a string. Hang it over night in the fridge. It might be difficult to hang in the fridge. I like to hang at room temperature for 2-4 hours depending on the season. Then place wrapped up yogurt in a flatten colander with a plate underneath to catch the water, while I place some weight on top of the yogurt wrapped in a cheese cloth. Place this setting in the refrigerator over night to get rid of as much water as possible.
- 10 minutes before making the shrikhand, soak saffron in warm milk for 10 min.
- Once hung yogurt/curd is ready. Place it in a big bowl or a bowl of standing mixer.
- Add saffron milk, powdered sugar and cardamom powder in the same bowl as hung yogurt/curd.
- Mix everything very well into smooth consistency, until everything is very well blended with no lumps. This step is so much easier when you use standing mixer or hand mixer to blend everything into smooth consistency. While the traditional way is to mix it by hand and strain this thick mixture through a fine mesh strainer.
- Once everythign is mixed well, add in slivered nuts, raisins and tutti frutti along with few strings of saffron. Mix well one more time and then refrigerate it for at-least 2-4 hours before serving.
- Simply serve it with masala puri or just plain puri wand Surati Undhiyu!!