Kesar Pista Shrikhand

5 from 3 votes

Shrikhand made with Greek Yogurt and flavored with saffron, cardamom & pistachios! This popular Indian dessert is so easy to make and makes a great treat for the festive season.

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Thick and creamy Kesar Pista Shrikhand made with Greek Yogurt.

This easy recipe comes together quickly and makes a great festive treat!

kesar pista shrikhand in a white bowl with a spoon

The Indian festive season is officially here.

I remember when I was little, I would wait for Raksha Bandhan because that was like the beginning of the festive season.

After that it went on until December with Navratri, Dussehra, Diwali, Christmas, New Year!

It was definitely my favorite time of the year. While it doesn’t feel the same here (minus the Christmas time) like it did in India, I try to make up for it by making lot of festive treats.

This creamy Kesar Pista Shrikhand is one dessert which I make often just because it’s so easy and requires minimal ingredients.

What is Shrikhand

Shrikhand is an Indian dessert made with thick creamy yogurt.

It’s usually flavored with saffron, cardamom and nuts.

In India, it’s usually made with plain yogurt which is hung for days to get rid of excess moisture.

Once the yogurt is super thick, it’s then sweetened and flavored.

Here for this Shrikhand recipe, I have used Greek Yogurt.

A lot of times, I straight away make shrikhand with greek yogurt and don’t strain it all.

Since Greek Yogurt is already quite thick, it’s a good quick way to make shrikhand.

However for this recipe, I did strain my Greek Yogurt overnight.

Even though the yogurt was thick to begin with, the straining made it even more thicker.

This one is flavored with kesar (saffron), cardamom and pista (pistachios).

Mango puree is also often added to shrikhand to make Mango Shrikhand (Aamrakhand).

shrikhand in a bowl garnished with pistachios and bowl of pistachios in the background

How to Make Shrikhand

The process is pretty simple and most of the time that goes in this recipe is hands free time.

The straining part takes overnight but once that’s done, it only takes 10 minutes to put it altogether!

Once the yogurt is strained, I add sugar to it also the cardamom and saffron.

A quick tip while adding saffron, add it to warm milk and let it sit for few minutes before adding to the yogurt.

This results in great color and flavor from the saffron. If you just add the saffron strands to the yogurt, it might not impart that much flavor.

This is true for any dessert when you are adding saffron.

The last bit is adding the nuts, which is optional. You can skip it.

And then don’t forget to chill it before serving. It gets really thick as it chills.

Can I Make This Using Regular Yogurt?

Yes absolutely you can make shrikhand with plain yogurt. You might need to strain the yogurt for 36 to 48 hours in that case.

Remember to let the yogurt strain inside the refrigerator.

Once you have the thick yogurt, follow the rest of the steps as it is.

Serving Suggestions

Shrikhand is often served and paired with poori (puffed fried bread) in Western India.

It’s an amazing combination and one that you must try!

And of course you can just serve it in small bowls.

It makes a great festive dessert, which is also easy to make!

 

Method

1- Line a strainer with muslin cloth. Then place a bowl below the strainer. Add yogurt to the muslin cloth.

2- Bring the ends of the muslin cloth together to close it. Then place heavy object like a mortar pestle on top of the yogurt and let it sit in the fridge overnight.

If you want, you can skip this step while using Greek Yogurt and go straight to step 4. I do this step even though I use Greek Yogurt because I prefer super thick texture.

3- In the morning, you will have super thick yogurt and there will be some whey collected in the glass bowl. Transfer the yogurt from the muslin cloth into a bowl.

4- Add powdered sugar and cardamom powder to the yogurt.

step by step picture collage of making kesar pista Shrikhand

5- Whisk to mix the sugar and cardamom powder.

6- In a small pan, heat 2 teaspoon of milk. Add saffron strands (crush them between your palms before adding) to the warm milk. Remove pan from heat and let it sit for 2 minutes.

7- Add the saffron milk into the yogurt and mix.

8- Add in the chopped pistachios.

step by step picture collage of making kesar pista Shrikhand

Chill the Kesar Pista Shrikhand for 3 to 4 hours before serving. It really thickens as it chills. Serve with more garnished pistachios.

kesar pista shrikhand in a white bowl and garnished with pistachios

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Kesar Pista Shrikhand

5 from 3 votes
Prep: 10 minutes
Resting Time: 8 hours
Servings: 4
Shrikhand made with Greek Yogurt and flavored with saffron, cardamom & pistachios! This popular Indian dessert is so easy to make and makes a great treat for the festive season.

Ingredients 

  • 1 lb greek yogurt plain, full fat
  • 4-5 tablespoons powdered sugar adjust to taste
  • 1/4 + 1/8 teaspoon cardamom powder
  • 2 teaspoons milk 10 ml
  • saffron strands generous pinch of
  • 1 tablespoon chopped pistachios unsalted, + more to serve
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Instructions 

  • Line a strainer with muslin cloth. Then place a bowl below the strainer. Add yogurt to the muslin cloth.
  • Bring the ends of the muslin cloth together to close it. Then place heavy object like a mortar pestle on top of the yogurt and let it sit in the fridge overnight.
    If you want you can skip this step while using Greek Yogurt and go straight to step 4. I do this step even though I use Greek Yogurt because I prefer super thick texture.
  • In the morning, you will have super thick yogurt and there will be some whey collected in the glass bowl. Transfer the yogurt from the muslin cloth into a bowl.
  • Add powdered sugar and cardamom powder to the yogurt. Whisk to mix the sugar and cardamom powder.
  • In a small pan, heat 2 teaspoon of milk. Add saffron strands (crush them between your palms before adding) to the warm milk. Remove pan from heat and let it sit for 2 minutes.
  • Add the saffron milk into the yogurt and mix. Add in the chopped pistachios.
  • Chill the Kesar Pista Shrikhand for 3 to 4 hours before serving. It really thickens as it chills. Serve with more garnished pistachios.

Notes

  1. You can flavor the shrikhand with several other things like rose water, cocoa powder (t0 make chocolate shrikhand), jams like strawberry and blueberry or mango puree to make Mango Shrikhand.
  2. Since we are using Greek Yogurt in this recipe, you may skip the step of straining the yogurt. Just straight away sweeten and flavor it and then chill it. However, if you want it super thick, then do strain overnight.

Nutrition

Calories: 110kcal, Carbohydrates: 13g, Protein: 12g, Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 6mg, Sodium: 42mg, Potassium: 179mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 12g, Calcium: 128mg, Iron: 0.1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Indian
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Hi, I’m Manali!

Bringing you easy, delicious vegetarian & vegan recipes! Eating veggies can be fun, you just need to get creative in the kitchen with the right set of ingredients!


5 from 3 votes (1 rating without comment)

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11 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Please don’t post my previous comment. The spellcheck changed your name. Unless you know how to correct it. I am so sorry.

  2. 5 stars
    Hi Ms Manali, just chilling the Kesar Shrikhand…did taste it and delicious! How can I share a photo?

    1. Glad to know and I fixed my name 🙂 don’t worry about it! You can share photo on Instagram, use hashtag #cookwithmanali so that I can see or email me the photo 🙂