Yogurt: neeru majjigae

Neeru Majjigae:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup yogurt (home made sour yogurt is best)
• 3 cups water
• 1 or 2  green chillies
• 1/2 tsp grated ginger
• 4 or 5 curry leaves (karibaevina soppu)
• 1 tsp finely chopped cilantro (optional)
• 1 or 2  tsp lemon juice to taste (specially if the yogurt is not sour)
• 1 pinch powdered hingh (optional)

Optional Garnishing:

• 1 tbs oil (corn oil, canola, vegetable oil)
• 1 tsp mustard seeds

Method:

Run the yogurt, water, green chillies, ginger in the blender for a couple minutes and pour into a jug. Add salt, cilantro, hingh, curry leaves, mix well and neeru majjigae is ready to be served.
Optionally, to kick it up a notch, garnish the neeru majjigae by splattering mustard seeds in oil heated over medium heat and adding to the neeru majjigae

Cooking tips:

Use additional water to dilute the neeru majjigae to the consistency you prefer. Adjust salt, lemon juice to taste. Neeru majjigae can be served plain with a little salt or improvised with any herbs of your choice. Just add a couple of mint leaves to the plain neeru majjijae Ola you have a different flavoured majjigae.

Serving tips:

Serve chilled as a thirst quencher.

Yogurt : Buttermilk

Buttermilk:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup yogurt (home made or store bought)
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 tsp salt (optional)

Method:

Blend or mix thoroughly all the ingredients together.

Cooking tips:

Use additional water to dilute the buttermilk to the consistency you prefer.

Serving tips:

Serve with plain rice and pickle or serve cold as a thirst quencher.

Smoothie: Mango Lassi

Mango Lassi:

Ingredients:

• 1 mango fully ripe, peeled, seeded and cut coarsely 
• 1  cups plain cold yogurt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 1/2 cups crushed ice
• 2 tbs sugar to taste (optional)
• 1 pinch ground cardamon (optional)

Method:

Blend all the ingredients in a blender for a couple of minutes till the contents is a smooth frothy mixture.

Cooking tip:

Serve immediately.  If the mango is sweet enough, do not add sugar. You can blend a few pieces of cleaned, pruned strawberries (1cup).

Serving tip:

Serve anytime during a hot summers day. Serve with a few pieces of thinly sliced fruits on top like mangoes, strawberries, bananas etc.

Smoothie: Salt Lassi

Salt Lassi:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups plain cold yogurt
• 1 1/2 cups crushed ice
• 1/4 tsp salt to taste
• 1/8 tsp pepper to taste
• 1/4 tsp cumin powder (optional)
• 1 green chili ( optional)
• 1 tbs cilantro (optional)

Method:

Blend all the ingredients in a blender for a minute or so till the contents is a smooth frothy mixture..

Cooking tip:

Serve immediately. Vary salt, spices, per your taste.

Serving tip:

Serve anytime during a hot summers day.

Srikand: sweet yogurt - Mytri

Srikand: sweet yogurt

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Greek yogurt
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 or 4 strands of saffron/kesari
• 2 tbs of MTR Badam Mix (optional)

Method:

Drain yogurt overnight or for at least a few hours in the fridge.  Add the sugar and saffron, badam mix and whip on low for about 10 minutes.

Cooking tips:

Can use any yogurt (home made, store bought), but all these have more water content in them. Drain yogurt using a cheese cloth, or a very fine sieve. Instead of  saffron and badam mix you can use any essence (rose, vannila) and natural food coloring of your choice. Vary the amount of sugar as per your taste.

Serving tips:

Serve plain as dessert. Fold sliced bananas and top with toasted nuts to add bling. Can be a side dish with pooris.

Yogurt:Mosaru:Thyir; set your own yogurt

Yogurt: set your own yogurt

Ingredients:

• 1 to 2 cups milk (either whole, low-fat or fat free)
• 1/8 cup starter yogurt culture (read instructions below)

Method:

Bring milk to a boil either in the microwave or on stove top. Turn off the heat just before the milk creams up and starts to overflow. To make the culture for the first time, take 1 tbs yogurt (store bought) in a small cup and thoroughly mix it with 1/8 cup of warm water. Let the milk cool down a little (should be warmer than luke warm) add the starter culture to the milk. Cover and let it sit for 4 to 6 hrs for the yogurt to set. After the first time, you can use  the yogurt that you have already set to make the starter culture for future.

Cooking tip:

In hot weather the yogurt sets faster and you can add the starter culture when the milk is luke warm. In  cold weather, the milk needs to be at higher temps than luke warm for the culture to work. Wrapping the milk dish with towel or placing it in a warm place will also help to set the yogurt. Once the yogurt is set (when the milk has thickened) place it in the refrigerator. The longer it stays out, the yogurt will get more sour. Homemade yogurt is not as dense as the store bought ones. Fat free milk produces less creamy and dense yogurt than whole milk.
P.S. If boiling fat free milk on stove top, use a thick bottomed dish on low heat as the milk tends to burn/brown quickly.

Serving tip:

Serve plain, after any spicey meal. Can make buttermilk, lassi, fruit yogurt etc.