🍮 Shrikhand

Shrikhand is a sweet dessert of strained yogurt, traditional in the cuisines of Maharashtra and Gujarat. Dahi is hung in muslin for 4–8 hours until the whey drains off; the resulting dense mass is called chakka. The chakka is mixed with sugar and flavourings — saffron, cardamom, nutmeg, sometimes pistachios and almonds — until smooth and creamy. A mango version, amrakhand, is popular too.

According to the Indian food historian K. T. Achaya, a similar dish, “shikharini”, has been known since about 500 BC; a recipe is also described in an 11th-century Kannada poem. There is a legend about herders who strained yogurt to make it easier to carry on the road and sweetened the soured mass in the morning. In Nepal a similar product is called sikarni. In India there are standards for the solids, fat and sugar content of industrial shrikhand.

Shrikhand differs from labneh in its sweetness and aromatic additions, and from sweet curd cheese spreads in being based on strained yogurt rather than curd cheese. It is served as part of a thali, with puri (deep-fried flatbreads) and at festivals.