Make Your Own Yogurt "Clay Pot Curd"

Day4 of BM8: Making Yogurt at home is a time honored ritual at almost all Indian homes. I also learnt that the Turkish and Russians are equally passionate about making Yogurt at home. One of my hubby's colleagues sent me a gift -- Tibetian Milk Mushrooms/Kefir Grains to make Kefir(Fermented Milk Drink). So I got into the task of "Kefir making" rather enthusiastically. After a week I found it very difficult to care for those mushrooms. And then it was time for me to look for a new hobby. He He. But if you guys are curious about this you can check this link.

I have seen my grandma set the Yogurt in an unglazed clay pot. So when MIL came, I asked her to get me a small clay pot. Somehow the clay pot made the journey all the way from across the world without breaking. The clay will allow the yoghurt to become thicker because of its water absorbing characteristics.

Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum-Part1(Political):
Mr and Mrs. Obama. Famous Obama Quotes: **A good compromise, a good piece of legislation, is like a good sentence; or a good piece of music. Everybody can recognize it. They say, 'Huh. It works. It makes sense.'** I think when you spread the wealth around it's good for everybody.** Money is not the only answer, but it makes a difference.**

The Great Soul/"Mahatma" Gandhi: A few of his famous quotes: **We must be the change we wish to see.**Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.** Culture of the mind must be subservient to the heart.**Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.**An eye for eye only ends up making the whole world blind.**

Now onto the recipe:
Ingredients(For 4 Servings of thick Yogurt):

• 5-6 Cups Whole Milk 
• 3 Tbsp Yogurt, any brand of choice

Tool/Utensil:

• Unglazed Clay Pot
• Steel Sauce Pan
• Ladle

Procedure:

• Scald the milk in a stainless steel sauce pan.

• Keep the flame medium and occasionally stir for 12-15 minutes. The milk shouldn't boil. Switch off the stove and let it cool down until it is "warm". Too hot milk might kill the bacteria in the Yogurt.

• Dilute the Yogurt with a ladle-ful of warm milk and pour it into the clay pot. Cover it with a lid or cheese cloth and let it sit "undisturbed" in a warm spot.

• The milk ferments in 4-5 hours or overnight depending on the weather.

How to make Raita/Pachadi/Indian Tzatziki:
This is somewhat similar to the Celery Root Remoulade that I had posted ages ago.

Ingredients(4-5 Servings)

• 2 Cups of thick homemade or store-bought Yogurt (If the yogurt isn't thick, strain it)
• 1/2 Small Red Onion
• 1-2 Small Seedless Cucumber
• 2 Small Carrots
• 1/2 tsp Peppercorns
• 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
• Salt for taste

Procedure:

• Strain the Yogurt for a couple of hours or simply use thick greek yogurt.

• Shred the onion, carrot and cucumber.Mix it and set it aside.

• Dry roast the peppercorns and cumin seeds.

• Pound the toasted peppercorns and cumin seeds in a mortar-pestle.

• Transfer the strained Yogurt, shredded Veggies to a large shallow bowl.

• Add the coarsely ground peppercorns, cumin seeds along with salt.

• Mix gently and serve it with Herbed Vegan Fried Rice or Mutton Biryani Or Minty Mixed Vegetable Pilaf.

Enjoy!

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Celery Root Remoulade "Lite"

In the previous post, I had asked what the Mystery vegetable was in the Yogurt Sauce. No it isn't cabbage or cucumber. It is Celery Root. Celery root is considered as an ugly duckling of the vegetable family. Ugly and knobby it might look but it tastes divine with its clean taste and potato-like texture. For this recipe, I have made a lighter version of the Remoulade(Mayonnaise based condiment) with plenty of Yogurt and very little Mayo. Vegetarians who don't care for Mayo can go ahead and substitute with Sour cream and enjoy this wonderful condiment.

Ingredients:

• Celery Root - 1, small, peeled and shredded
• Dill - 1 tbsp
• Cold and Thick Yogurt - 3 cups, whipped
• Mayo or Sour Cream - 3 tbsp
• Garlic - 3 cloves, minced
• Salt - 1/2 tsp or more
• Walnuts - 1/2 cup, toasted and roughly chopped

Procedure:

• In a large bowl add the all the ingredients except the walnuts.
• Mix it gently to evenly incorporate.
• Move it to a serving bowl and garnish with toasted walnuts.
• Serve it chilled as a side to Pilaf, Biryani or even with Roti(Flat Breads)

Enjoy!

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Sevai(RiceNoodles) in Yogurt, Grape & Pomegranate Sauce

This is normally made with rice. But now and then I substitute Rice Noodles for rice for a change. BTW, this was suggested to me by my Mil.

Ingredients:

• Rice Noodles - For 2 people
• Yogurt - 1 cup, beaten using whisk
• Skimmed Milk - 1/2 cup
  
• Cilantro - 1/8 cup, finely chopped
• Seedless Green Grapes - 1/4 cup, quartered
• Pomegranate Arils - 1/4 cup
• Black Mustard - 1 tsp
• Split Black Gram - 1 tsp
• Asafoetida(Hing) - a pinch (optional)
• Hot Green Chilli - 3, vertically slit or just pierced
• Salt for taste
  

Procedure:

• In a pot, bring water to a boil. When its starts boiling, drop the rice noodles and switch off the stove.
• Drain the noodles using a colander after 3-4 minutes.Separate the noodles using a fork and set aside in a bowl.
  
• Add the yogurt and milk to the bowl.Sprinkle salt and mix gently.
• In a skillet, add the oil and season using mustard and black gram. Once the black gram is browned, add the hing(if using) and green chillies. Saute and add to the bowl.
  
• Follow up with the cut fruits and chopped cilantro. Gently mix and serve @ room temperature(in winter) or cold(in summer).

Makes 2 Servings.

Enjoy!

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Mango N Peach Lassi: A Sweet Addiction

My all time addiction is mango lassi, that is generally made of fresh mango, sugar, spice and yogurt blend.I like to experiment with my lassi and found out that peaches in mango lassi are a welcome addition!Everytime I sip this drink,its like my taste buds have died and gone to heaven.A few months ago, I had gone to my neighbour's babyshower hosted at an Indian restaurant where one of the dessert  was a fruit salad with mango lassi as a sauce. Mango lassi as a sauce??Hmm, interesting! I had to come home and give it a try while the taste still lingered in my tongue and mind,you know!  I was glad I did. It came out better than I had expected and now its a frequent occurrence in the house.The mango season is long gone but I make do with canned pulp.

Ingredients:

For Lassi:

• Sweetened Mango Pulp - 1 cup, any brand(I use Deep's Kesar Mango Pulp)
• Ripe Peach - 1
• Yogurt - 1 cup, best quality
• Sugar - 1 tbsp (optional)
• Lemon juice - 1 tsp

Puree all the above ingredients in a blender and chill for an hour before serving.

For Fruit Salad:

• Pear, Peach, Grapes, Pineapple, Cherry - 1 cup, chopped
• Mango N Peach Lassi - 1 cup, chilled

Combine the fruits in a bowl and top it with prepared lassi.

Makes 2 Servings.

Enjoy!

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Yogurt Parfait: A Quick-As-A-Wink Dessert

What do you whip up when you want something sweet and healthy but do not have the time or patience to slave over creating it?Yoghurt Parfait,right? A few weeks ago, this is what I did when I had invited friends over and was under a severe time crunch.You'll see what I meant when you look at the picture. It was a messy presentation but the taste was anything but!Parfait has french roots and is usually made of custard and fruit puree. A healthy alternative to this is using low-fat plain or Vanilla yogurt which is what I did.

Ingredients:

• 1 32-oz Container of low-fat Vanilla/Banilla/Plain Yogurt
• 1 cup fresh strawberries, chopped
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 1 cup Fresh seedless grapes, halved
• Sprigs of Mint, for garnish
• Crumbled granola (optional)
• 8 wine Glasses

Procedure:

• Mix all the fruits in a big bowl.
• Spoon a layer of the mixed fruits, layer with yogurt and repeat it one more time.
• Top it with crumbled granola and mint.

The beauty of this dessert is that any fruit combo can be used. Rice pudding can be used instead of Yogurt as well.

Enjoy!

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