perfect thick and creamy homemade curd recipe

Aug 10, 2022
By Mary Anthony
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HOW TO MAKE THICK CREAMY CURD AT HOME / PERFECT YOGHURT RECIPE

Curd also known as Dahi in Hindi is a fermented milk product made from warm milk and a bacterial yogurt starter.

Daily consumption of yogurt contributes to calcium intake which makes your bones strong. Regular yogurt contains bone-strengthening mineral calcium of which one serving (3/4 cups) contains 275 mg of calcium which is beneficial for good bone health.

10 reasons you must include curd in your daily diet

It makes your teeth and bones stronger.
It improves immunity. .
It is used as home remedy to get fair skin and great hair.
Improves digestion.
It is good for your heart.
It helps lose weight.
It removes dandruff. .
Improves vaginal health.

Curd acts as a great probiotic. The good bacteria present in curd helps to clear out the digestive system. It improves our gut activity and is great for treating an upset stomach.

People with weak digestive system should not eat curd at night. If you often have acidity, indigestion, or acid reflux problems, you must not eat curd when your digestion is sluggish, which is usually at night. It is found that lactose intolerant people can digest curd, but not milk.

The best time to have curd is during day time. Ayurveda suggests that one must avoid having curd at night. However, people who do not have any cold and cough problems may add curd to their meals even at night.

INGREDIENTS

Full fat milk – 1 litre
Starter curd – 1 or 2 or 3 tsp depending on weather and how quick you want the curd to set .

METHOD

Boil milk in a vessel . Use full fat milk don’t add even a drop of water .
Let it come to almost room temperature . The milk should not be cold but slightly warm to touch. The best test is by dipping your little finger and the milk should feel comfortable, warm and never hot. If you have an oven thermometer the temperature should be between 35 – 40 degree Celcius.
Pour the warm milk in another vessel .Do not set the curd in the vessel that you boil the milk in . You can set the curd in any vessel of glass, plastic, stainless steel, mud pots , ceramic ,casserole ,hot box , wooden bowl etc . Don’t use aluminium . Mud pots have a tendency to absorb extra moisture and gives you a very thick curd.
Whisk the starter curd well and then add it to the milk and then mix well so that it doesn’t settle in one corner . Whisk it well till bubbles are formed or mix it like we mix coffee to form bubbles .We can use a beater also .
STARTER /CULTURE CURD – Use curd from your previous curd or you can use store bought curd too. Use good thick starter curd.
Cover the container and let it rest for 3 or 4 or 8 hours OR overnight in a warm place . If the weather is very hot and humid it tastes very less time for the curd to set . Colder the climate, it takes a little longer.
Once it’s set, refrigerate the curd immediately otherwise it will turn sour.
You can store in refrigerator for a week.

IF USING TONED MILK – boil the milk .once it starts boiling . lower the flame and boil for 5 mins .

CURD FOR SHRIKHAND – For shrikhand we can make curd using milk + milk powder . 3 or 4 tbsp milk powder for 1 litre milk .By using milk powder there is less wastage of whey and we get more chakka .

IN WINTER it takes more time for the curd to set. TIP – add the starter curd [ little more tan usual ] to the warm milk , close the lid and cover with a towel or blanket . Keep it on the top of the refrigerator .

OR preheat your oven/microwave for a few minutes, then switch it off. After a min , put the container inside and close the oven door. The warmth that you have created will set the curd. Use a casserole or hot box in winters.

HUNG CURD – Take a deep bowl and place a large strainer on it. Spread a clean muslin cloth or a cheesecloth over it and add the plain curd in the center. Wrap the muslin cloth from all sides and tightly tie it. Leave it in a refrigerator for around 6 to 7 hours or until almost water is drained off from the curd. Excess whey water will get collected in the deep bowl below it Curd should become very thick.

FOR SETTING CURD IN 2 TO 3 HRS – After boiling wait until excess heat is reduced. It should be little hotter than warm. Add in 5 – 6 tbsp of starter curd and mix very well.

TIP 1 – Just warm a container bigger than the curd vessel by holding it up the flame for few seconds. Make sure the container is just warm not super hot. Place the container with milk inside the hot container . Close the lid of the milk vessel and close the container lid too. Rest it for around 2 – 3 hours and the curd will be ready.

TIP 2 – Heat little water in a pressure cooker or any other container. Switch off the flame and place the stand. Place the milk container and cover it .Now close the lid of the cooker / container . Here the curd sets in 30 t0 60 mins .

The time may vary depending on the milk temperature, amount of curd used, climate etc.

MAKING CURD WITHOUT CURD

Warm 1 cup of milk. Add about 3 – 4 dried red chillies with stalks to it or only add green chilli stalks . Place it in a warm place and allow it to set. The yogurt made with this method may not be perfect ,but this works great as a starter so you can use this as a starter to make fresh yogurt at home without curd. Even the taste differs . If this starter is very loose or watery, then drain of the excess water through a muslin cloth or strainer .

FEW MORE TRICKS USED – dipping hot iron knife in milk . keeping silver spoon in milk . soak badam in curd for overnight . next morning store that badam in freezer . use this badam as starter .This badam is reusable .Again store in freezer and use .

We can make instant butter milk to be used as starter . Take milk , add lemon juice and mix well. Keep aside for 10 mins .The milk will curdle .Drain, the excess water and use the hung curd as starter.

NOTES

For thicker curd use hung curd as starter . That is hang the regular curd to drain off the excess water .
If the milk is too hot or too cold , curd will not set well .
Adding ¼ tsp sugar helps in making thick curd.
You need about 1 or 1 ½ tbsp of starter curd, depending on the weather.
To make vegan yogurt use any of the vegan milk like cashew milk or almond milk but make sure that they are full fat too.
Use a good thick and not slimy starter . If you set curd with greek yogurt or already slimy culture there are chances that the resulting yogurt will turn out to be slimy or sticky.

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