Mango Shrikhand

Summer time and summer vacation is always associated with Mangoes. Almost every meal is accompanied with mango or a recipe of mango. And so is this Mango or Aam Shrikhand or Aamrakhand. Aamrakhand is a mango flavored yogurt garnished with almonds and pistanchios. I remember store bought Aamrakhand was packed in a mango shaped individual containers and they were so cute. I used to collect those containers, wash them well and re-use them to put some nic-nacs.

This post is very special, of coarse because it is a special recipe of the season, but also because it shows how I started my summer break. Few months back I met a creative silver artist, Sheela through a common friend. It was so exciting to know that silver articles can be made at home using silver clay and of course many other materials, but it is so possible. Silver jewellery and silver articles are very close to me. I love silver and yes we use silver to serving food and offering prasad (sweet) to God. It would be fascinating to be able to make a silver article that can be used in daily life. I would totally love a pendant or a ring or earrings, but I choose to make little spoon to place it in a little silver bowl. I took this class with Sheela. The entire experience was amazing. It was not as easy as I thought. But with proper guidance and motivation from as expert, I am very thrilled and happy with the end result. It was a well started summer break!

Here are the silver spoons that I made with Sheela.

From molding, shaping, texturing, firing in the kiln, polishing, there are several steps to achieve a perfect product.

Check out this artist and her FaceBook page.

If you like being creative and learning something new, this class is something you should take.

With your girlfriends, this would surely be a fun party!

To make Mango Shrikhand

Ingredients: (serves 2)

2 cups plain yogurt

1 to 1+1/2 cup mango pieces (I used frozen Kesar mango pieces from Deep Foods)

2 tbsp. sugar (or to taste)

2 tbsp. chopped almonds and pistachios

• Place a sieve or a muslin cloth over a bowl and add yogurt to it. This is to remove water from yogurt and make it thick and creamy. You could add Greek yogurt too, but this is a traditonal method of making Shrikhand. Let yogurt drip most of the water (in around and hour).
• In a bowl place mango pieces (you could use fresh mangoes or frozen mango pieces. Avoid using mango pulp as it is very runny and will not make shrikhand thick and creamy).
• Add sugar to mango pieces. Using a fork or a masher, mash and blend sugar and mango together. You could mash it completely to make it smooth or keep some pieces for some texture.
• Add yogurt and mix well.
• Add few chopped nuts and leave some for garnish.
• Refrigerate it for some time. 
• Serve chilled.

Place a sieve or a muslin cloth over a bowl and add yogurt to it. This is to remove water from yogurt and make it thick and creamy. You could add greek yogurt too, but this is a tradiitonal method of making shrikhand. Let yogurt drip most of the water (in around and hour).

In a bowl place mango pieces (you could use fresh mangoes or frozen mango pieces. Avoid using mango pulp as it is very runny and will not make shrikhand thick and creamy).

Add sugar to mango pieces. Using a fork or a masher, mash and blend sugar and mango together. You could mash it completely to make it smooth or keep some pieces for some texture.

Add yogurt and mix well.

Add few chopped nuts and leave some for garnish.

Refrigerate it for some time. 

Serve chilled.

Enjoy Shrikhand with Puffed Puris!!