KESAR PISTA SHRIKHAND.. Recipe Courtesy 'Husband- Jashan Parikh'

This recipe is by my darling husband, Jashan. Yes, I am not the only chef in the house.. well, I am. But he does know a few dishes and he makes them quite well. Shrikhand is on the top of that list. We have an agreement of sorts where I never attempt to make the dishes that he makes, as a result in the 6 years we have been together I have never made Maggi, Alu Bhaji and Shrikhand. 

He makes Shrikhand the traditional way by hanging the yogurt overnight to get rid of the water and then add the desired flavor and sugar. The recipe is pretty straight forward. Here's how he makes it:

Ingredients:

Yogurt, 64 oz

Cheese Cloth

Powdered Sugar, 1.5 - 2 cups

Kesar, few strands

Milk, 2 tbsp

Pistachios, 3 tbsp blanched

Cardamom Seeds, 1 tsp

Procedure:

1. Take a large bowl and place the cheesecloth in it. Add the entire yogurt to this and bringing together the four corners of the cheesecloth tie it into a tight knot and hang it on a shelf knob or someplace where it can easily hang and place a bowl below it to collect the dripping water from the yogurt. Leave this overnight.

2. Powder the saffron strands using a pestle. Similarly, ground the cardamom seeds too.

3. Warm the milk and add the saffron to the milk and mix. 

4. This is how the yogurt would look after getting rid of the water. 

5. To this add the saffron mixture, cardamom powder and sugar and mix well. Start by adding 1.5 cups of sugar and adjust the sweetness to suit your palate. I only used 1.5 but you can add another 1/2 cup if you want. 

6. Slice the pistachios and add to the shrikhand. Let this rest for another 4 hours and serve topped with sliced pistachios!