Honestly, we’ve all had our dahi chawal phase! Curd has a special place on both the plate and palate of India. No Indian meal is complete without some form of Dahi on the table, haven’t been in my house in a long time! It’s used to make raitas, curries, idli, dosa, dhokla, buttermilk and so much more! And why not? It’s so easy to make curd at home with raw fresh milk without having to buy anything with added preservatives.
One of the first things I learned in the kitchen was to make curd.
Curd is made by mixing a yogurt starter, which is also called Jaman (It’s just some curd) with warm milk and then it’s allowed to ferment for some hours. After the fermentation process, the consistency of the flowing milk gradually transforms into a thick wobbly pudding-like texture. It’s now ready to be transferred to the fridge for 2 hours for further cooling down. The “mast” curd is ready for consumption.
Easy and fresh availability is not the only reason why Dahi is a staple in our diets. It helps with digestion, improves immunity, helps to lose weight, is good for your bones and teeth and so much more!
Not only that, did you know that curd can be used as a beauty product too? Dahi is my mom’s go-to remedy for dandruff. More sour, more benefit, so you can easily use the leftovers. A mixture of egg, honey, and curds is a great conditioner for hair, giving it a silky texture with a lot of shine. Curd mixed with powdered oats is an excellent skincare routine in case of sunburn as well as dry skin.
Well, by now I’m sure you know why you need to have dahi in your fridge at all times. Don’t worry, you don’t always have to make it yourself. You can get just as fresh and pure dahi from Vijay Dairy. They make it from their fresh milk and you can store it for 15 days in your fridge.
It’s easily available and trust me I love making so many dishes using Vijay Dairy dahi.
Like I love making Dahi ke kebab, I use the recipe by Chef Kunal Kapoor. It is super easy and super delicious! Do you wanna know how? Let’s see!
Ingredients
Hung curd – 1 ½cup
Black salt – a generous pinch
Ginger chopped – ½tbsp
Coriander stems chopped – 2 tbsp
Roasted cumin powder – 2 tsp
Salt – to taste
Onion chopped – 2 tbsp
Green chili chopped – 1 no
Fried onion – 3 tbsp
Grated Paneer – 1/3 cup
Let’s make them now!
- Mix all the ingredients except for bread crumbs & oil. Make sure the curd is very very thick.
- Lightly oil your hands and make small balls of curd. Dunk them in bread crumbs.
- Refrigerate the kebabs for 15 mins.
- In the meantime heat oil.
- Remove the kebab from the fridge and directly add it to the hot oil to get a golden fried colour.
- Remove and serve them hot.
I think more than the kebabs, I have made Lassi using this dahi since it’s very thick and gives that smooth texture. I love serving Rose Lassi to my family and guests. I use Chef Sanjeev Kapoor’s Rose Lassi recipe. Let me tell you how:
Ingredients (For 4 glasses)
Curd 4 cups
Rosewater 3 tablespoons
Dried rose petals crushed 3 tablespoon to garnish
Rose syrup as required
Green cardamom powder 1 teaspoon
Sugar 1 cup
Fresh malai 3 tablespoons
Pistachios, Almonds chopped as required
Method
- Take curd a bowl and whisk till smooth. Add cardamom powder, 1 tablespoon rose water and ½ tablespoon crushed dried rose petals and whisk well.
- Add sugar and whisk till the sugar dissolves completely. Add malai and whisk till smooth.
- Spread some pistachios and almonds on a plate and mix them well.
- Take rose syrup in a bowl, dip the rims of tall serving glasses in the syrup and coat them with the pistachio-almond mixture.
- Pour lassi into the glasses, sprinkle some crushed dried rose petals on top and serve immediately.
A food item, also used as an ingredient for such diverse recipes, that also has amazing health and beauty benefits? This is your sign to add curd into your diet!