With silky hung curd, cardamom, saffron and crunchy nuts, shrikhand is one of those desserts that needs very little fuss to taste festive.
This traditional Maharashtrian and Gujarati favourite is made by straining curd until thick and creamy, then flavouring it with saffron, cardamom and nuts. This version uses Zeroh instead of regular sugar for sweetness.
Prep Time: 15 minutes + 4–6 hours straining
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 4
Ingredients
500 g full-fat fresh curd
4–5 tbsp Zeroh, or to taste
½ tsp cardamom powder
8–10 saffron strands
2 tbsp warm milk
2 tbsp chopped almonds
2 tbsp chopped pistachios
1 tbsp chopped cashews
A few strands of saffron and pistachios for garnish
Method
Hang the curd
Place a clean muslin cloth or cheesecloth over a deep bowl. Pour in the curd, gather the edges of the cloth and tie it securely.
Hang it for 4–6 hours, or place it over a strainer in the refrigerator, allowing the whey to drain completely.
The longer it drains, the thicker your shrikhand will be.
Prepare the saffron
Warm 2 tbsp milk and add the saffron strands. Let them sit for 5–10 minutes so the colour and aroma infuse into the milk.
Make the shrikhand base
Transfer the thick hung curd to a bowl.
Add Zeroh and whisk gently until smooth and creamy. Add the saffron milk and cardamom powder.
Whisk until everything is well combined and the shrikhand becomes silky.
Add the nuts
Fold in the chopped almonds, pistachios and cashews.
Taste and adjust the sweetness if needed.
Chill and serve
Refrigerate the shrikhand for at least 1–2 hours before serving.
Garnish with saffron strands and chopped pistachios.
Serve chilled on its own or traditionally with hot puris.
Why Hung Curd Matters
The magic of shrikhand isn't in complicated cooking. It's in removing the whey.
Regular curd contains a significant amount of water, while straining concentrates the milk solids, giving shrikhand its thick, spoonable texture.
This also means the final texture depends heavily on how well the curd is drained. If the curd is too watery, the shrikhand will be loose regardless of how much you whisk it.
Nutrition Note
Shrikhand has a useful nutritional advantage over many purely sugar-based desserts because its main ingredient is dairy.
Hung curd provides protein and calcium, while nuts contribute magnesium, vitamin E and unsaturated fats.
The straining process removes whey, so shrikhand is more concentrated than ordinary curd. That means it can also be quite rich, especially when made with full-fat curd.
Using Zeroh reduces the amount of conventional calories added to the recipe, but shrikhand is still a rich dairy dessert rather than a low-calorie food.
Why Zeroh?
Traditional shrikhand is usually made by mixing hung curd with a generous amount of sugar.
Here, Zeroh provides the sweetness minus the calories of sugar, with no change in taste.
Recipe Tips
- Use fresh, thick full-fat curd for the best texture.
- Always strain the curd thoroughly. This is the most important step.
- If your curd is already thick, it may need less straining time.
- Don't whisk aggressively for too long; gentle whisking is enough to make the mixture smooth.
- Add Zeroh gradually and taste as you go.
- Chill before serving. The flavour and texture become noticeably better when cold.
- For Kesar Shrikhand, increase the saffron slightly and let it infuse properly in warm milk before adding it.
- For Amrakhand, fold in smooth mango pulp after preparing the shrikhand base.
Thick, creamy, saffron-kissed, and loaded with nuts.
Honestly, if puri and shrikhand are on the same plate, the diet can wait five minutes.
