Shrikhand

गुढीपाडव्याच्या हार्दिक शुभेच्छा !

हे वर्ष तुम्हाला सुख समृद्धिचे जावो !

In India there are plenty of festivals in many regions। And it has some specific sweet dish for the specific festival. Like I made Puran Poli for the Holi festival. From several years this is going on. It is mainly depends upon the season and availability of ingredients in that season and area. Today is "Gudi Padwa" Maharashtrian's new year (i.e. 1931) begins from today.
Gudi Padwa is considered one of the four most auspicious days in the year when people start new ventures. It is believed that Lord Brahma created the world on this day and so he is worshipped specially at this time. On the festival day we decorate our houses with mango leaves and 'rangoli' designs, and pray for a prosperous new year. A gudi (banner) with a swastika -marked metal pot and silk cloth is raised to announce victory and joy. The prasad of Gudi Padwa is the bitter leaves of the neem tree with jaggery.

Rangoli specially for Gudi Padwa in front of my door

I Prepared traditional menu for Gudi Padwa - Shrikhand Puri. In every Maharashtrian house Shrikhand is the main sweet dish for Gudi Padwa. This festival comes in summers so Shrikhand is very cool because it is made up of Curd. I tried this first time at home. (because the famous Pune's Chitale Bandhu's Shrikhand is not available in Bangalore) It came out very well. Today onwards on Gudi Padwa only home made Shrikhand.





Ingredients
Thick curd-400gm (I used Nestle's Fresh 'n' Natural Dahi)
Powdered sugar-3 table spoon
Cardamom powder - 1/8 tea spoon
Warm Milk - 2 Table spoon
Saffron for Garnishing

Procedure
Take curd in thin cotton cloth. Squeeze it with hand and remove the water. Tie it tightly and hang it over night so all water in curd will drain out. Take the strained curd (in Marathi we call it as Chakka) in a big bowl. Add Powdered sugar and mix it neatly. Then add Cardamom powder. Now add warm milk and beat it for 2 minutes with beater. My Aai used to do this in Puran yantra which is used to make Puran poli stuffing. Garnish it with Saffon. If you like you can add Badam, pista slices and charoli in it. Serve chiiled shrikhand with Garma garam Puri.

This is my contribution for WYF:Cuisine event