It is blazing hot and the thought of making shrikhand has popped into my head more than once. But, as I am on a diet, I decide to write about it instead. So, I go to my WhatsApp buddies to find out what they know about shrikhand that I don’t.
Stake a claim
Is shrikhand a Maharashtrian dish or a Gujarati one, is my first question. And there is the expected uproar. My Marathi, Gujarati friends and even my buddy from Madhya Pradesh claim it as their own. But not before another friend sends me a link where I learn that (in a book called Indian Food: A Historical Companion ), shrikhand was mentioned in Kannada food writings as far back as 1025 AD. And there is mention of how the Persians brought it with them. After some to and fro, for the sake of this column, I will assume that the Maharashtrians have an edge.
Not that many Marathis are fighting for that honour. Not Paritosh Joshi, certainly. “I have argued and debated with my Gujju friends about many dishes we both claim to be ours, but I am happy to allow them to claim shrikhand as their own.” And, adds, “At some weddings, they serve shrikhand , as it induces intoxication at half the cost of alcohol.”
I agree it can be sweet, sometimes cloyingly so, but there is something about the simplicity of the dessert that appeals to me. All you need is curd, sugar and cardamom. Everything else is up to you. And a bowl of cold, white, sweet and creamy curd presses all the right buttons for me. And for many others I know.
Feast from the best
That Chitale Bandhu Mithaiwale is the best-known shrikhand place in Pune is the unanimous verdict. “There is a long line sometimes to buy the hung curd (made of whole cream milk) they sell there, called chakka , in another outlet close to the main sweet shop that also sells other dairy products,” says Deepali Das. “The guy there will not sell you the chakka if you have not brought your own container to take it back home with you.” It is a move not driven by any environmental concern about plastics, but only because he will not spend extra money on give-away dabbas , is Deepali’s uncharitable explanation. But I am impressed. Yogini Brahmankar says, like all Maharashtrians, she has grown up with shrikhand , eaten a lot of it and even makes it. And she says perhaps the best she has eaten is at Sangli. “Perhaps the taste has got something to do with the milk there,” she says.
The right way
The purists like it white, with maybe just a flavouring of cardamom, saffron and a sprinkling of charoli or chironjee , small nuts that can also be substituted with slivers of almonds or pine nuts. And, of course, there is the famous amrakhand , with mangoes. “I once put strawberries in my shrikhand for some NRI guests from America and they just shrugged it off saying, ‘oh, fruit yoghurt’,” recalls Deepali, who never made that mistake again. But shrikhand tastes really nice with seasonal fruits such as chikoo or any others you may like.
A great cook and also a Maharashtrian, Surekha Datar says shrikhand is made especially for Gudi Padwa. “It is the onset of spring and summer. People have been deprived of cold things such as curd in the preceding months, and what better way to celebrate than with a cool, sweet shrikhand . Of course, the best thing about it is, it requires no great effort to make it, except to hang the curd earlier. All the ingredients that go into it are readily available at home.”
Surekha has promised to serve a bowl of chilled shrikhand with hot puris and shallow fried potatoes. I can’t wait.
Shrikhand |
Ingredients
1 kg full cream thick curd
4/5 tablespoons sugar (powdered preferably)
1 huge pinch of saffron, soaked in 1 tbsp warm milk for 3-4 hours
2 teaspoons cardamom powder
A pinch of nutmeg powder
For garnish
Quarter cup mixed, crushed or slivered nuts
Method |
Whisk curd thoroughly and leave it to refrigerate for five to six hours. It will thicken considerably.
Lay a muslin cloth in a colander and tip the curd onto it. Place a bowl under the colander to collect the whey. Fold the cloth with the curd, and place some weight on it. Refrigerate for 10 to 12 hours to obtain thick cheese-like curd. Set aside the whey and use it to knead the puri dough later.
Whisk the curd and sugar thoroughly until smooth. Add the soaked saffron, cardamom powder and the nutmeg powder. Mix thoroughly and transfer into a serving dish.
Garnish with the crushed or slivered nuts.
In this fortnightly column, we discuss iconic foods, their origins and evolution.
