Shrikhand is a delicious and creamy yogurt dessert made with thick plain yogurt, sugar and flavored with sugar or saffron. Shrikhand is very simple to make and is popular in western parts of India. You can use greek yogurt to make it as well.
Allow me to call it a beauty.I dont mean fancy or flashy. Neither I want to hint that I toiled over this dessert for hours. This eliachi shrikhand is hopelessly easy to make. Yet succeeds in achieving the delight a dessert can bring. Slightly tart yogurt flavored with freshly ground elaichi (cardamom) and topped with a luscious mango saffron compote - as simple as it can get but like a little sunshine in a bowl.
It is hard to believe that something so simple as yogurt & sugar can turn into a creation which appeals to the sweet tooth. Cream add more body to the dessert in my opinion and makes it a little more wonderful. Cream is not used traditionally shrikhand. You can skip it. I like it for the added richness that it lends.
What is Shrikhand?
Shrikhand is a yogurt sweet dessert from western parts of India.Shrikhand recipe is like a blank canvas - some like to add nuts, some combine chopped or pureed fruits with it and some let the melt in the mouth consistency remain unadulterated. Experiment as it pleases you.
I ate shrikhand for the first time prepared by one of my friend's mom in Pune. She served it along side pooris (deep-fried flatbread) & a spicy bean sprouts curry. The combo was a bit odd for me at first but I immensely enjoyed it.
Usually, pureed mango is mixed with hung yogurt and shrikhand becomes amrakhand. My favorite summer fruit is here. I bought season's first mango last week & they seemed perfect to add a texture to the dessert. The mangoes were ripe & sweet - a compote was definitely on my mind. Addition of saffron to it seemed an obvious decision to accentuate the exotic flavors. The fact that I prepared the dessert with homemade dahi (indian style yogurt) made me a happier than usual.
Make It With Greek Yogurt
If you are in a rush, you can use greek yogurt in this recipe. It saves you additional time of straining the yogurt.
Follow instructions as it is from the recipe card. You can refrigerate it for 30 minutes and serve.
Cardamom(Elaichi) Shrikhand With Mango Saffron Compote
Equipment
- Colander
- Cheesecloth or Muslin
- Mixing Bowls & Spoons
Ingredients
- 4 cup plain yogurt full fat
- 50 ml heavy cream cold
- ⅓ cup fine sugar or to taste
- ½ teaspoon green cardamom powder
- pinch nutmeg powder optional
For Mango Compote
- 8-10 saffron strands
- 1 tablespoon warm water
- ½ tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 cup mango chunks
Instructions
Cardamom Shrikhand
- Line a colander with muslin/cheese cloth large enough that you can tie up its ends. Place the colander over a large bowl. Ensure that there is gap between the colander bottom & the bowl bottom to collect the draining liquid. Pour the yogurt into the colander and tie up all the ends of the muslin/cheesecloth. Let drain refrigerated for at least 6 hours or preferably overnight i
- Discard the whey once drained.cIf in hurry, you can use Greek yogurt to make shrikhand too. Skip draining if doing so.
- Transfer the strained yogurt into a bowl. Add cold cream to it and start whisking using a hand beater. Slowly add the sugar and beat until slightly stiff peaks. Add cardamom & nutmeg powder, mix and refrigerate for 1 more hour.
- Serve the chilled shrikhand into serving bowls & top with mango compote (recipe below). Keeps well in fridge for 2-3 days
Mango Saffron Compote
- In a medium bowl, dissolve the saffron in lukewarm water till it dissolves. About a minute or so. Stir in the lime juice, sugar and mix till sugar dissolves. Add in mangoes. Let sit for 2-3 hours in the fridge. Use as needed
adornment
Lovely ! Shrikhand reminds me of my Badi Mummy who used to make it so perfectly ! Yummy cool concoction for a hot summer afternoon.. One question did you use our Indian Alphonso mangoes in this ? Do you get them here ?
Tanvi
Thanks Neha. I did not use alphonso. I dont think I can get them here, maybe not even at indian stores. I use ataulfo mangoes from mexico. I think they come closest to indian taste.
adornment
Thank you for the name of the mangoes , so I know what to look out for ! Keep sharing your goodness with us ! 🙂
adornment
I wonder where my previous comment disappeared anyways ! I had written " Thats a lovely recipe ! reminds me of my Badi Mummy, she used to make shrikhand perfectly !! Yummy cool concoction for a hot summer afternoon....Thank you for the recipe....I have a question....What kind of mangoes did you use in this ? Do you get Alphonsos here in US ? "
-Neha
Amuse Yo Bouche
That looks and sounds delicious! I am waiting for my delivery of Alphonso mangoes this weekend. Will definitely be trying your recipe out. 🙂
[email protected]
Oh so refreshing! I love this kind of refreshing desserts.
Kanchan
Looks too heavenly ... totally smitten by snaps ..
[email protected]
Love your ivory spoon and I love anything with yogurt so this is a total winner in my book!
Nami | Just One Cookbook
Another amazing recipe and photography Tanvi! I love your dessert recipe and this looks wonderful...especially tons of mangoes in it. ^_^
Sublime Palate
Hi Tanvi, I love the intricacy with which you write about every recipe. The photos just make it even more desirable! I can tell the amount of time, patience and work you put into each post. Great stuff 🙂
Tanvi
Thanks Vishaka. Blogging is hard work..We both know it 🙂
chinmayie @ love food eat
I haven't gotten myself to make anything with mangoes yet (other than the granola bars) because i am right now enjoying them plain. But this recipe looks super duper tempting 🙂
Rosa May
A fabulous dessert! refined, fresh and delicious.
cheers,
Rosa
Deepa
I am also going nuts here whenever I am in market...Can see only mangoes !! As you said very easy and no hassle but tasty and yummy. Gorgeous clicks as usual
Nandita
This truly is a beauty Tanvi. It is a lovely dish which you have captured it to perfection
Priya
Omg, thats a super tempting,droolworthy and irresistible shrikhand..
dassana
beautiful clicks. agree with you that some homemade curd with cardamom and sugar is a simple and gorgeous dessert.
i already have an amrakhand recipe on my site which i posted a while ago. with the mangoes in full season here, we usually have them plain or sometimes i make baked goodies.
Faith
What a delight this treat is! I can imagine that the creamy portion and the sweet/tangy mango compote compliment each other perfectly!
TasteFood
This sounds wonderful and perfect for a warm day. I love the flavors.
Soni
Oh I love Shrikhand anytime!!These look divine and those mangoes,man I need to get some mangoes right now!!Gorgeous!
Nadia
How beautiful - love the airy, bright photos. Hope you saved some for me. 🙂
Ira Rodrigues
Great recipe Tanvi, its perfect as I love yogurt and mango. Your photo definitely speaks more!
DB-The Foodie Stuntman
Congratulations on making the foodbuzz Top 9!
Tanvi
Thanks 🙂
Tanvi
Thank you.
Yummy Morsel
Beautiful clicks. Yummy Shrikhand, I just love all the ingredients.
Spandana
Beautiful Pictures Tanvi.. Totally in love!
anshu18
wow such beautiful pics, i really think you should upgrade to a SLR, you are doing so good with a Point and shoot (if you are using this), with SLR you would do wonders
Reem | Simplyreem.com
Beautiful as always Tanvi!!!
i love shrikhand, who doesn't right.....
Tina
This looks simply fabulous..Lovely and colourful clicks..
Urvashee
Beautiful pics. I love the yellow color. The compote sounds yummy and a nice twist to the traditional shrikhand.
sweettoothcraving
Love your pictures! 🙂
sweettoothcraving
Love your pictures!
Kajal @ http://sweettoothcraving.blogspot.com/
Tanvi
Thank you 🙂
Ilke
That is beautiful Tanvi, I love good, thick yogurt with jam or anything sweet. Or any dairy for that matter.Love to combine feta cheese with jam too 🙂 So this is perfect for my taste 🙂
Kiran
Delicious shrikhand!! Now I need to source out sweet mangoes and make this ASAP!
sreebindu116
the perfect way to use my mangoes from the fridge=)
xoxo
Asmita (@FoodieAsmita)
Mangoes are my weakness. This shrikhand looks amazing and as usual your photography is stunning!!!
magicofspice
A beauty is right! This looks so inviting, and I adore mangoes!
Tarak Parekh
Awesome recipe.. I made it this weekend for my own graduation ceremony and it came out well. I used frozen berries instead of mangoes... Thanks!
shuhan
OH this looks just divine! gorgeous gorgeous photos! and I agree, there's nothing better than a really ripe sweet mango! love the addition of saffron in the compote, and the cardamom, one of my favourite spices!
pRiyA
I made it and ate it up just now. Till now I had only eaten the store bought skrikhands so I have to say that this was a revelation. The alternating tastes of mango compote and creamy srikhand is pure pure bliss. Another winner from Sinfully Spicy!
Tanvi
Thanks Priya.Love that you try the recipes & give your feedback. Do let me know about the ones that you dont like 😉
Nikhil
Tanvi-- I have to thank you for this recipe. I had never made shrikhand before in my life, as it always seemed so daunting. But I made it the other day when I had some family over and it was a huge hit. For all your lazy readers out there, I took a few short cuts and it still turned out amazing. First of all, I used Greek yoghurt. Secondly, I didn't bother to drain the dahi after adding the cream, nor did I bother to put it in the fridge for two hours. (Next time, I think I will skip the cream entirely, so as to make it less fatty. As it is, I used 0% fat Greek yoghurt). Lastly, I didn't use as much sugar as is called for in the recipe, which does make it less authentic, but we liked it nonetheless. The shrikhand with the mango compote was a genius idea of yours, thank you again!
Tanvi
I m glad that you liked the recipe and most importantly it turned out good for you!