Homemade mango flavored Greek yoghurt (Amrakhand)

Summer season brings delicious mangoes and specially the Alfonso mangoes from India are world famous for their smooth, rich delicious taste. Shrikhand is a traditional recipe from the state of Maharashtra, India that is a mango flavored thickened yoghurt. Few continents away, this thickened yoghurt is what is called a Greek yoghurt that is available in various flavors like Strawberry, banana, pear, mango etc. It is interesting how a food preparation is so similar in different parts of the world, is known by different names and still it remains unknown that it is indeed enjoyed by people on other side of the planet.

Mango shrikhand is a house hold favorite flooding the market shelves specially during summers in India. But nothing can beat homemade fresh shrikhand made from homemade yoghurt!

I remember sneaking into the kitchen and scooping the chilled shrikhand with fingers only to play dumb to the questions later as to how the container got empty!

If you enjoyed the recipe and get tempted to make it too, please hit like, share on FB, Google+, and comment. So I know my recipe reached you :)

Ingredients:

1 large size yoghurt 2lb

2 large ripe mangoes

cheese cloth

1 cup sugar

5-6 green cardamon powder 

4-5 sprinkles of nutmeg powder

Recipe:

1. Loosen the yoghurt in the can using a spoon. I use whole fat yoghurt for the creamy smooth texture. 

2. Pour the yoghurt onto cheese cloth, empty the entire contents carefully into the cloth. I placed the cloth inside the strainer to let drip excess water from the yoghurt.

3. Once the contents are emptied, tie a knot using the spare ends of the cloth to tightly hold the yoghurt in the center.

4. I tied the knot and hung the yoghurt above the kitchen sink to let drip water over the course of next 5-6 hours or overnight into the sink. The intention is to remove excess water so that the yoghurt thickens. This entire process converts regular yoghurt to the homemade version of Greek yoghurt.

5. At the end of the incubation, Greek thickened yoghurt is ready. This is what will be used to make a mango flavored delicacy. If you have time it is recommended to leave the yoghurt hung overnight and proceed with the following steps in the morning. The overnight incubation introduces a matured yoghurt flavor. But if you are more comfortable leaving the yoghurt out only for few hours the product is not as different from that of the 24 h hung yoghurt. 

6. Peel the fresh mangoes. Choose the mango varieties with smooth texture without the stringy fibers in the flesh.

7. To remove the mango pulp, soften the body by holding the mango in between your thumb and small finger and pressing using the other hand. Remove the top of the mango skin and squeeze out the pulp as much as you can.

8. Make mango smoothie in the blender.

9.  Empty the mango pulp in a container.

10. Add the thickened yoghurt into the bowl with mango pulp and whip smoothly.

11. If required blend it, add sugar at this point.

12. Mango and yoghurt are evenly blended. Remove in a dry airtight container.
The color lightens from yellow/orange to a tint of yellow. I refrain from using any artificial colors, and keep it natural. For a yellow color, a pinch or two of turmeric may also be added.

13. Sprinkle the powdered cardamon and nutmeg. Serve chilled with Indian fried bread (puri) or enjoy as dessert! Delicious!