Thandai Shrikhand is an amazingly delicious, creamy, smooth, rich, flavor-bursting Indian dessert made using strained yogurt, sugar, and sweet-smelling nuts, seeds, and spice mix (thandai powder).
This creamy dessert has delicate flavorings of cardamom, saffron, and rose is garnished with nuts and is served chilled.
Hand-pulled noodles or pasta provide a unique texture and artisanal touch to your dishes.
Table of contents
This personalized serving, flavorful, sweet-scented, and delicious Thandai Shrikhand would make a perfect dessert for festive occasions like Holi or Diwali. It also would make a great addition to your dinner party table. Prepare this easy-to-make Indian dessert for your parties or get-togethers, and this dessert would surely steal the show.
Thandai dishes can be relished throughout the year, but they are a must during the festival of Holi.
Making Thandai shrikhand takes only 10 minutes of your effective time. The rest of the time is just for the overnight straining and chilling where you practically don’t need to do anything. Keep your thandai powder and strained yogurt ready and you can get this deliciously cooling dessert ready in just a few minutes.
So this festive season, make this mouthwatering Thandai Shrikhand and please your loved ones. It is everything to make them fall in love with this easy dessert.
What is Thandai?
Thandai is a very popular and delicious milk-based Indian cooling drink made with dry fruits (almonds, pistachios, cashews) seeds (melon seeds, poppy seeds, fennel seeds), sugar, spices (black peppercorns, cinnamon), and flavorings (cardamom, rose, and saffron), etc.
What is Shrikhand?
Shrikhand is a famous Indian dessert which is popular for its delicious taste and very classic, creamy, and thick texture. Shrikhand is prepared by using strained yogurt and is generally flavored with cardamom, and saffron.
For making any Shrikhand, you need to strain the yogurt until it loses all its whey, then it is sweetened, and flavored with aromatic spices for dessert perfection. After that, it is kept chilled in the refrigerator until serving.
What is Thandai Shrikhand?
Thandai Shrikhand or Dry Fruits Flavored Yogurt Dessert is a classic 2.0 version of a classic Indian dessert Shrikhand.
It is a delicious variant of Shrikhand where this sweet dish is flavored with Instant thandai powder, saffron soaked milk, rose water, and dried rose petals. It is very simple to make and tastes divine.
This Thandai Shrikhand
✔is extremely creamy and thick
✔only requires 10 minutes of your effective time
✔makes a wonderful dessert for a festive or party table
✔can also be made with Greek yogurt
✔is vegetarian and gluten-free
✔can also be made vegan
✔stays fresh for up to 4-5 days
✔suitable for make-ahead dessert for parties
✔can easily be customized according to your taste
✔makes beautiful individual desserts
✔is healthy and tastes so delicious
Ingredients for Thandai Shrikhand
Thandai Shrikhand requires only 6 ingredients, and they are:
1. Full cream Greek yogurt, or natural full fat yogurt:
Yogurt is the key ingredient for this dessert. You need yogurt for making strained yogurt, so use your favorite yogurt.
2. Thandai powder:
It is the second most important ingredient for this recipe. I have used homemade thandai powder here, but you can also use store-bought thandai mix. You can easily find thandai powder at any Asian grocery store worldwide.
3. Sugar:
I added 1/3 cup granulated sugar here, but you can also use powdered sugar. Also, feel free to adjust the amount of sugar according to your taste.
4. Rose water:
It adds up an ultra-fine floral touch to this extravagant dessert. So use the organic good-quality rose water here.
5. Dried rose petals:
They are added for a nice texture and a blooming exquisiteness.
6. Saffron strands soaked warm milk:
Saffron strands give this dessert a beautiful yellowish tinge and it also elevates the flavor of this shrikhand by adding an enigmatic blossoming bouquet.
For garnish (opional):
Rose jam or rose syrup, sliced pistachios, and dried rose petals
Love fusion Thandai desserts? Then you would also love Thandai Powder, Thandai Recipe, No Cook Thandai Kulfi, thandai burfi, Thandai Frappe, and Thandai Cheesecake.
How to make Hung Curd (Strained Yogurt)?
Hung curd, strained yogurt (chakka/matha) is the main ingredient for making shrikhand. Chakka or Matha are the words for strained yogurt in Hindi language.
Traditionally the matha (chakka) making process takes time because in this process you need to tie and hang the full cream yogurt overnight in a muslin cloth.
This tying and hanging process is used for straining the whey (liquid) away to get the super thick and creamy consistency of yogurt (Chakka, Matha, or Hung Curd).
I have made the instant version of Thandai shrikhand with some strained Greek yogurt. Here, you only need to strain the yogurt for about 30 minutes to remove any excess liquid.
What are the health benefits of Shrikhand?
Shrikhand is a healthy dessert, and by eating shrikhand you can enjoy taste and health at the same time. Following are some health benefits of consuming Shrikhand:
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It is a probiotic and can boost your overall health.
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It is a good source of calcium which improves bone health.
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It is also rich in Vitamin B.
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Keeps the depression at bay, and makes you happy and cheerful.
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It is also beneficial for people with high blood pressure when consumed in moderation.
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It is good for your stomach and aids digestion. It also helps in abdominal discomfort.
More Shrikhand recipes you may want to try are:
How to Make Thandai Shrikhand?
Making Thandai Shrikhand is very simple and quick when you have strained yogurt and thandai powder handy.
This is how you can make the thandai shrikhand in 6 easy steps:
Step 1 - Put a strainer over a large bowl, and then spread a muslin or cheesecloth on the strainer.
Step 2 - Pour yogurt into the cloth and bring the edges of the cloth together and put some weight on top. Refrigerate for overnight around 8-10 hours (only 30 minutes if using Greek yogurt) to strain.
Once the liquid is drained out, the solid which remains in the cloth is known as chakka/hung curd.
Step 3 - Then add hung curd, thandai powder, sugar, saffron-soaked milk, rose water and dried rose petals to a large mixing bowl.
Step 4 - Whisk well until sugar is dissolved and the mixture becomes smooth and creamy.
Step 5 - Transfer mixture to piping bags and pipe into serving dishes. Garnish with rose syrup, pistachios, saffron strands, and dried rose petals.
Step 6 - Chill for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Enjoy!
For a full list of Thandai Shrikhand Recipe ingredients and step-by-step photo and video instructions, please see the recipe box on this page.
Important tips and tricks to make the best thandai shrikhand?
1. I have used thandai powder for making shrikhand, you can also use a combination of thandai powder and thandai syrup. Thandai syrup is already sweet, so when you use thandai syrup, make sure to reduce the amount of sugar.
Or may totally skip the sugar if you have added about 1/4 cup thandai syrup.
2. I topped thandai shrikhand with rose syrup, rose petals, pistachios, and saffron strands. For other flavorings, you can also top thandai shrikhand with tutti frutti, and paan masala.
3. I have added 1/3 cup of sugar to this shrikhand recipe. But you can increase or reduce the amount of sugar according to your taste buds.
4. To make hung curd, you can also use full cream Turkish yogurt. Turkish yogurt already has a thick creamy texture, so only strain it for 15 minutes.
5. You can also freeze this thandai shrikhand for 3-4 hours, then scoop it into bowls or cones. Your thandai flavored frozen yogurt is ready.
6. If you don’t want to use powdered sugar, then feel free to replace it with jaggery powder, coconut sugar, honey, or maple syrup.
7. This Thandai Shrikhand stays fresh in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 8-10 days.
8. Use coconut yogurt and coconut milk to make vegan Thandai Shrikhand.
FAQ
How to serve Thandai Shrikhand?
Thandai Shrikhand tastes best when served chilled. You can make the shrikhand a day in advance and then when it is time to serve, transfer them into individual serving bowls. Garnish and serve.
What to serve with Thandai Shrikhand?
Thandai shrikhand can be served as an after-meal dessert. It can also be served as a party snack along with chakli, namak para, gujiya, besan ladoo, masala mathri, nankhatai, kaju katli, mysore pak, coconut ladoo, kaju pista roll, or verki puri.
You can serve it with poori or paratha. No matter how you plan to serve this dreamy creamy dessert it would always taste great.
How to make Vegan Thandai Shrikhand?
To make vegan shrikhand, swap yogurt with coconut yogurt. Also, use coconut milk in place of milk and follow the same recipe.
How to store Thandai Shrikhand?
To store, transfer Thandai Shrikhand to an air-tight container and refrigerate for up to 8-10 days.
Can I freeze the thandai shrikhand?
Yes you can freeze the thandai shrikhand. To freeze, transfer shrikhand to a ziplock bag or a freezer-safe container, and then freeze for up to 2 months. When you want to serve, thaw it in the refrigerator overnight.
Thandai Shrikhand (Step-by-step photo instructions)
How to make Thandai Shrikhand:
- Put a strainer over a large bowl. Then take a muslin cloth and spread it on a strainer.
- Pour yogurt into the cloth and bring the edges of the cloth together and put some weight on top.
- Refrigerate to strain for 8-10 hours or overnight, this will remove excess whey. Strain only for 30 minutes if using Greek yogurt.
- Hung yogurt (curd) is ready.
- Transfer hung yogurt to a large mixing bowl.
- Add thandai powder, sugar, saffron strands soaked in 2 tablespoons warm milk, and rose water.
- Whisk well until sugar is dissolved and yogurt becomes creamy.
- Pour thandai shrikhand into a piping bag.
- Pipe into a serving glass or bowl, or simply pour it into a serving dish.
- Drizzle with rose compote or rose syrup.
- Then garnish with dried rose petals, saffron, and sliced pistachios.
- Chill mango shrikhand for 30 minutes to 2 hours before serving.
- Enjoy thandai shrikhand as an after-meal dessert or snack.
Recipe Card
Thandai Shrikhand [Recipe]
★★★★★
(Rating: 5 from 3 reviews)
| Prep time 🕐 | Cook time 🕐 | Total time 🕐 |
|---|---|---|
| 8 hours 10 mins | ||
| Category ☶ | Cuisine ♨ | Serves ☺ |
| Desserts | Indian | 4 |
| Nutrition Info ⊛ | Serving size ⊚ | |
| 156 calories | 1 |
INGREDIENTS
For Thandai Shrikhand:
- 600 grams full-fat Greek yogurt, (or 1 kg natural full fat yogurt)
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar, or as per taste
- 8-10 saffron strands soaked in 2 tablespoons warm milk
- 1/2 cup thandai powder
- 1 tablespoon dry rose petals
- 1 teaspoon rose water
For Garnish:
- Rose jam or rose syrup
- Sliced pistachios
- Dried rose petals
- Saffron strands
INSTRUCTIONS:
How to make Thandai Shrikhand:
- Put a strainer over a large bowl. Then take a muslin cloth and spread it on a strainer.
- Pour yogurt into the cloth and bring the edges of the cloth together and put some weight on top.
- Refrigerate to strain for 8-10 hours or overnight, this will remove excess whey. Strain only for 30 minutes if using Greek yogurt.
- Hung yogurt (curd) is ready.
- Transfer hung yogurt to a large mixing bowl.
- Add thandai powder, sugar, saffron strands soaked in 2 tablespoons warm milk, and rose water.
- Whisk well until sugar is dissolved and yogurt becomes creamy.
- Pour thandai shrikhand into a piping bag.
- Pipe into a serving glass or bowl, or simply pour it into a serving dish.
- Drizzle with rose compote or rose syrup.
- Then garnish with dried rose petals, saffron, and sliced pistachios.
- Chill mango shrikhand for 30 minutes to 2 hours before serving.
- Enjoy thandai shrikhand as an after-meal dessert or snack.
WATCH RECIPE VIDEO: Click the play button and video will load ...
NOTES:
- I have used thandai powder for making shrikhand, you can also use a combination of thandai powder and thandai syrup. Thandai syrup is already sweet, so when you use thandai syrup, make sure to reduce the amount of sugar. Or may totally skip the sugar if you have added about 1/4 cup thandai syrup.
- This Thandai Shrikhand stays fresh in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 8-10 days.
- If you don't want to use powdered sugar, then feel free to replace it with jaggery powder, coconut sugar, honey, or maple syrup.
- To make hung curd, you can also use full cream Turkish yogurt. Turkish yogurt already has a thick creamy texture, so only strain it for 15 minutes.
- Use coconut yogurt and coconut milk to make vegan thandai shrikhand.
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Author: Anupama
Recipe Source Link: https://www.mygingergarlickitchen.com/thandai-shrikhand/
