Kesar Pista Shrikhand

Name: Kesar Pista Shrikhand
Prep time: 10 min
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)

By Manali Singh

5 from 3 votes

Sep 24, 2019, Updated Oct 20, 2019

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!

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).

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.

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.

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

If you’ve tried this Kesar Pista Shrikhand Recipe then don’t forget to rate the recipe! You can also follow me on Facebook and Instagram to see what’s latest in my kitchen!