Peach Cardamom Lassi

EVENT: FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOP

THEME: #255 DAHI DELIGHTS

DISH: PEACH CARDAMOM LASSI

This Week’s Theme on FoodieMonday/Bloghop Group:

This week’s theme Dahi Delights  has been suggested by Poonam who blogs at Annapurna. Poonam’s suggestion was to try and use dahi as a main ingredient, for any dish be it a drink, starter, main or dessert. Before I go into explaining what is dahi, I have to mention that Poonam’s crisp, clear and colourful photos of all her dishes is a treat for the eyes. Her blog is a a wonderful balance of vegetarian dishes from India and International.

What is Dahi?

Dahi is the Hindi/Gujarati word for yogurt. The word yogurt is also referred to curd in India. If you ask a shopkeeper for yogurt, he probably will not understand what you’re asking for. Yogurt nowadays is available in all supermarkets all over the world. I remember when I was growing up, my mum always made yogurt at home as we could at that time not buy it readymade.  Yogurt basically is made from dairy milk, but having said that these days you will find vegan yogurt which is made from nut milk.

Is it easy to make Yogurt at home?

Yes it is as I still make yogurt at home. Firstly, it is preservative free and much cheaper than ready made one.

Boil the milk:

• Heat the milk till it comes to a boil. Boiling the milk will kill any microbes that are present in the milk. For a very thick set yogurt, the milk is allowed to boil for 20-30 minutes. For everyday use I don’t boil the milk too much. You can use full fat or 2% milk.

Cool the milk:

• Let it cool down at room temperature till its warm. I don’t have a thermometer so my washed finger does the job. I dip the finger in the milk and it should feel comfortable warm. However, if you have a thermometer then the ideal temperature is between 43° – to 46°C.

Add the Starter Culture:

• To about 500ml of warm milk add 1 tsp plain yogurt. Now if this is the first time you’re making the yogurt then you will have to use ready made plain yogurt. I save a bit from the the batch I make to make another batch. So you add about a teaspoon of plain yogurt to the warm milk. Give it a stir.

Find a Warm Place:

• Cover the bowl and place it in a warm place. As I live a hot and humid place, I just leave it on the counter. When I’m in Bangalore where the weather is cooler, I place it in the oven (switched off) or cover it bowl with a small towel so it stays warm. Put the bowl in a place where it will stay undisturbed.

Incubate or let it set:

• Let the mixture incubate for anywhere between 5-10 hours. Cooler weather means it will take longer and hotter weather means that the yogurt will be ready in less time.

Cool it, Store it:

• Once it is set, put the yogurt bowl or container in the fridge for the yogurt to become cool. How do you know it is set? Well the best tell tale is that the solid and whey separate. A little shake and set yogurt will not move. If its still milk it will shake.
• I prefer to make small batches usually about 500 ml so that I have a constant supply of yogurt. Set yogurt usually stays for a week in the fridge, it may turn a little sour.

How do I use Yogurt in my daily diet?

Besides having a bowlful on its own there are several ways I enjoy yogurt:

For Breakfast:

• Mango and Yogurt Smoothie is my favorite breakfast during the mango season.
• Yogurt and Muesli Parfait is another breakfast favorite.
• Enjoy Dahi Chura as a healthy breakfast. Though its usually made on Makar Sankranti day in Bihar, it shouldn’t stop you from enjoying it any day as a breakfast option.

 

As A Salad:

• Turmeric Yogurt Salad Dressing – whenever I get some fresh turmeric I love to make this dressing to serve with any salad.
• Baigan Raita or Eggplant Yogurt Salad comes to the rescue whenever I want a filling and healthy meal.
• Potato Salad – yogurt is a good replacement for mayonnaise to make this famous salad

 

Enjoy Yogurt Based Snacks:

• My first choice of Indian Street Food is Dahi Papdi Chaat. Its a burst of flavors and so delicious.
• I still have to come across someone who says they don’t like Dahi Vada. I could have this dish every day. Basically its fried lentil fritters served with yogurt and chutneys.
• Palak Pakodi Chaat is best enjoyed with a generous amount of yogurt.

 

The Main Meal:

• Sorekai Majjige Huli is a yogurt based curry from the Udupi Cuisine which goes so well with rice. Traditionally ash gourd is used but I used bottle gourd.
• Whenever I need soft flatbread to make wraps, I prefer making Yogurt Roti. Adding yogurt to the wheat flour dough makes the rotis soft.
• Madra is simply a Chickpea Curry made using yogurt. Enjoy it with some rice or flatbread.
• Yogurt Cashew Nut Potato Curry a delicious curry, anyway potato and yogurt is a wonderful combination.
• Make the traditional Gujarati Kadhi which is made from yogurt. Best to enjoy kadhi with rice.
• Chickpea flour and yogurt cooked together makes Pithlu which comes in handy in place of  vegetable curry. Usually enjoyed with bhakri.
• Gatte ki sabji is a famous Rajasthani curry made using yogurt.
• Kalan is a yogurt based curry from the Kerala Cuisine.

 

Delicious Desserts:

• Rose and Saffron Yogurt Mousse is what I usually serve as dessert during the hot season.
• Fruit and Nut Parfait is what we enjoy as a healthy dessert. I simply add some granola, fruits and nuts to greek yogurt or hung yogurt.
• Bhapa Doi is a traditional Bengali baked yogurt dessert. I love to add dulce de leche to it whenever I can.
• Shrikhand, another famous dish from the Gujarati cuisine is made from yogurt. Mostly enjoyed with poori or roti, its a common sweet dish or dessert prepared for dinners and lunches whenever guests are invited.
• My all time favorite is Strawberry Frozen Yogurt.
• If you are looking for a sugar free dessert then Banana Cinnamon Frozen Yogurt is perfect.

 

A Light Meal:

• Chilled Cucumber and Yogurt Soup is best enjoyed when the weather is  very hot and humid.
• Avocado Mint Lassi – enjoy as a meal whenever you get avocados.

 

Drinks:

• Cucumber Coriander Chaas, Coriander Garlic Chaas or Vaghareli Chaas is what we have every single day. Best way to enjoy the health benefits of yogurt.

 

From Poonam’s blog Annapurna I would love to try out:

• Curd Quinoa, whereby she has given a twist to the traditional curd rice by using quinoa.
• Maharashtrian Doodhichi Koshimbir, which is grated bottle gourd in yogurt. Such a simple and healthy salad to enjoy.

What is Lassi?

Lassi is a yogurt based drink which can be sweet or with salt. It usually is thick like a smoothie and very filling. This yogurt based drink from the Indian Sub Continent is best enjoyed during the hot summer season. To know more about lassi and the chaas read this post.

 

Why did I decide to make a Lassi for this theme?

There are several ways I could have used yogurt to prepare a dish for this theme. However, I decided to make lassi for two main reasons, one that the weather here is a bit erratic. It rains for about 15-20 minutes and after that its just too hot and humid to hang around in the kitchen for a long time. Secondly, the peaches I got from my veg and fruit supplier were all ready! It was a tussle between and unhealthy treat peaches and cream and a healthier filling and nutritious peach lassi. Just as well I chose to make the latter.

 

Peach Cardamom Lassi

The Peach Cardamom Lassi became my light lunch option, filling, nutritious, cooling, refreshing and did I mention super yummy? The peach was sweet and instead of sugar I opted for honey. Surprisingly, cardamom does taste good with peach. Enjoy as a snack, a breakfast treat, on its own as a light meal or along with your main meal.

 

Ingredients required for Peach Cardamom Lassi:

• Peach – use a ripe peach large or two small ones
• Yogurt – plain yogurt, either homemade or store bought
• Milk – use dairy milk or any milk of your choice
• Ice Cubes – for a cool lassi
• Honey – add according to your taste. can replace it with a sweetener of your choice
• Cardamom powder – for flavoring but feel free to use cinnamon if you like

 

Dietary Tips:

• Gluten Free
• Satvik
• Healthy
• Vegetarian
• For a Vegan version replace the milk, yogurt with a vegan milk and yogurt. Replace the honey with maple syrup of any other vegan friendly sweetener.

 

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A little request:

If you do try this recipe then please either

• add a comment below,
• send a picture to my email mayuri.ajay.patel62@gmail.com
•  tag me as #mayuri_jikoni on Instagram
• or tag me on Twitter as #Mayuri1962