Satvik Foods & a Giveaway!

A little while back, I was fortunate enough to receive this lovely bundle of products to road test by Australian company Satvik Foods.

I am usually a little sceptical when it comes to 'readymade' foods, as I worry about the ingredients and processing, but the Satvik Foods range is a little different. These packets of goodness are pretty straightforward - no nasties, no unpronouncables, no numbers.. just real ingredients. Lentils, quinoa, Ayurvedic spice blends, and salt.

On days when you are short on time and just want to get the food on the table, readymade mixes like these are a Godsend. Preparation of a healthy and delicious meal is made so simple with these mixes - there is no soaking required and they are fool proof! You can follow the packet instructions, or get a little creative and add extra ingredients.

I am in love with the dhal and spice range, in particular, 'Mystic Masala'. For this one, all you have to do is heat a little oil, add the mix, then add chopped tomato, coconut milk and water. Then a short time later you have delicious comforting dhal ready! I love the addition of nigella seeds to the spice blend, it tastes so good. I added a little extra salt, a good squeeze of lemon and fresh coriander (not pictured) and honestly, without any exaggeration, it was the best dhal I have tasted in a longgg time!

The Satvik Foods range is available in many health stores, and online through the Satvik Foods website. But, without further ado, here is the best part...

IT'S GIVEAWAY TIME!

To WIN a $30 pack of Satvik Foods, all you have to do is leave a brief comment on this post saying why you would like to try this product range.

This giveaway is open only to Australian residents, and closes on Monday, December 16th at 5pm AEST. Please be sure to enter your name and email address in the comment form to submit a valid entry.

*** This competition has now closed. Congratulations to Sue! ***

Good luck! xx

Nan Khatai (Indian Butter Biscuits)

Today marks a very special day in the Hindu calender, Diwali. Diwali is known as the festival of lights, and is a wonderful time of year for Hindu families. Little lamps are lit in homes to usher in good fortune and happiness in the Hindu new year. Vast amounts of sumptuous food is enjoyed as part of the celebrations, including an array of sweets!

Nan Khatai is a simple little sweet one often sees around this time of year in Indian homes. I have tasted many, and tried many recipes. However, this recipe is one I have come up with myself after a good bit of tweaking and now stick to year in and year out. I love the balance of flavours, and I love the tenderness of the crumb in these delightful (and addictive) little biscuits.

Although simple, there are a couple of things key to ensuring perfection in making nan khatai. First, only use freshly ground cardamom - pre-packaged cardamom powder doesn't even come close to the beautiful aroma of freshly ground cardamom. It is the most exquisite scent! Secondly, don't overwork the dough. Last but certainly not least, let the dough rest. Really, it is much like making pastry. If you overwork the dough and fail to let it rest, you will end up with a very tough final product.

Nan Khatai
An original Diary of a Ladybird recipe

Ingredients
90g salted butter
35g unsalted butter
100g caster sugar
1/2 teaspooon freshly ground cardamom
150g plain flour
45g white rice flour

Method
1. Using an electric mixer, cream the butters, sugar and cardamom until pale and creamy.
2. Mix in combined flour until just combined, then tip out mixture onto a clean work surface. Squeeze together and shape into a disc, wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Remove dough from the fridge and take teaspoon amounts of the dough and roll into balls and set aside. I keep in a spare plastic container with a lid. Refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes.
4. Place spaced apart on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake in a preheated oven at 160 degrees celsius. Bake for around 15 minutes or until just lightly golden.


And so to those of you celebrating, I wish you all a very happy Diwali! I hope you enjoy this recipe :)

xx

The Cardamom Pod, Byron Bay

The one thing I have always loved about Byron Bay is that there are ample and delicious food options for vegetarians such as myself. For diners like me, it is not always easy to find satisfying vegetarian options when travelling, so when visiting Byron Bay I take great comfort in knowing that in just about every cafe and restaurant, there will be at least one item on the menu for me to enjoy. But a real highlight for me when visiting Byron is dining at The Cardamom Pod - a fantastic little vegetarian cafe tucked away in an arcade in the town centre.

The Cardamom Pod has played host to many happy diners (both vegetarian and non-vegetarian alike) for many years now, and is popular with visitors and locals. Their offering of traditional Indian dishes as well as modern fusion cuisine means that there is something for everyone here, so it's no surprise that this place remains so popular. Run by Hare Krishna devotees, the food at The Cardamom Pod is egg-free, as well as the vast majority of dishes also being onion and garlic free. The food on offer here (like at Govinda restaurants around the world) is 'sattvic'. In Ayurveda, a sattvic or yogic diet is one that is clean, pure and wholesome. The food is never too salty nor sweet, and it satisfies the body and soul.

Hot, comforting food is available, including an array of traditional Indian dishes such as dals, paneer dishes, kofta balls in gravy, and vegetable preparations to be enjoyed alongside rice, papadums and samosas. There are also more western dishes available such as vegetarian lasagne. Vibrant and freshly prepared salads and tempting desserts entice us from the chilled display upon our arrival, and I just know it's going to be hard deciding on what to order!

We are greeted and served by the lovely Drew, who guides us through the hot food and salads available for the day. He also tells us a bit about where the cafe sources their ingredients, much of which is locally grown and organic. I also learn that a local dairy supplies them with fresh milk from which they make their own paneer - a firm cottage cheese often used in Indian cuisine. Nothing beats freshly made paneer - it's delicious!

The great thing about dining with a group of family/friends is that you can sample a wide range of dishes, and there are no hard feelings about the occasional stolen taste test from your fellow diners' plates! For your viewing pleasure, here are some pictures of our sumptuous vegetarian feast...

I thoroughly enjoy my vegetarian lasagne served with side salad. The Moroccan inspired baby spinach, chickpea and tomato salad with tangy yoghurt dressing is really good...

To finish, we share a slice of lemon and vanilla bean baked cheesecake with poached pear and syrup - simply divine!

Ladybird and family dined as guests of The Cardamom Pod.

The Cardamom Pod
Shop 8, The Pier Arcade
7 Lawson St
Byron Bay, NSW

http://www.byronvegetariancafe.com.au/


Ladybird x

Pani Puri

Have you ever heard of pani puri?

Pani puri is a popular bite-sized street snack sold by vendors across India, but is also enjoyed in many Indian homes. Crispy deep-fried spheres called puris are tapped open slightly before being filled with a savoury filling and chutney, then quickly dunked in a flavoured water (pani) before being devoured in one mouthful while still crisp. Sometimes sev (a crumbled vermicelli type product) is also sprinkled over the puris before they are eaten.

There are as may variations of pani puri as there are regions of India. People go mad for pani puri in India! I myself have never had it from street vendors in India due to health precautions whilst travelling, however, I have had the pleasure of enjoying it at home with My Ladybird's family on a few occasions. I think this is how it's enjoyed best - a big group of people sitting around the table chatting and busily tapping away at the puris, filling them one by one, devouring them one after the other... I myself can only manage around 10 at the most, but others (*ahem* Mr Ladybird) can just keep going and going!

As Mr Ladybird's family hail from Gujarat, they typically enjoy pani puri in the Gujarati style. I took some pictures of a recent pani puri get together to share with you all. So this is not a recipe post as such, but more of a show and tell, if I may :)

Here are the small puri I mentioned...

And here are the key fillings. At the front - a tangy mixture of cooked potato and boiled dark chickpeas tossed through a spice mixture. To the left, the sweet chutney made from dried mango. And to the back, the wonderfully green water made with loads of fresh mint, fresh coriander and a few other secret ingredients.

Here, my mum-in-law demonstrates how you put each puri together. Here she fills the puri with the potato/chickpea mixture, followed by the chutney...

The pani is then quickly spooned over (or you can dunk it directly into the water)... and down the hatch!

Keen to check out a pani puri recipe? As a starting point, check out this link:

http://www.tarladalal.com/Pani-Puri-2806r

Finally, a quick GIVEAWAY REMINDER for you all. My latest Bakers Delight giveaway is closing this Friday, June 24 so don't forget to enter for your chance to win one of five $5 Bakers Delight vouchers. To enter, click here and follow the instructions: http://diaryofaladybird.blogspot.com/2011/06/flavoured-scones-bakers-delight.html

Stay tuned for upcoming posts on my recent trip to the beautiful Byron Bay - there will also be more giveaways to be won! Oh, how I love giveaways :)

Ladybird x

Detoxifying Green Mung Bean Soup

Just a quick post from me this evening after a rather busy weekend!

Here is a nutritious soup recipe from our cookbook of the month - Eat Right for your Body Type by Anjum Anand. This soup is widely recommended by Ayurvedic practitioners as it is said to be revitalising and revitalising for the body. The green mung bean's outer green skin is rich in minerals and has a cleansing action on the digestive tract. It is commonly used as a source of sustainance during Ayurvedic fasts.

Seeing as I'm expecting, fasting is definitely off the cards for me. I like it on its own for a light lunch now and then, or for dinner I sometimes make this a little thicker by reducing the amount of water and then I serve it with steamed rice and vegetables.

The following is an adapted recipe from the book and suits all doshas. Speaking of which - did you take the quiz I linked to at the end of my previous post on the book? How did you find it?


The basic soup (suits all doshas)

200g green mung beans, washed in several changes of water
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
750ml water
1/4 tsp asafoetida powder
rock salt, to taste
fresh coriander, chopped
lemon juice, to taste

Basic tarka (flavoured oil)
2 tsp ghee (clarified butter)
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp ground coriander


Method

1. Wash the mung beans thoroughly and then soak them either overnight or for at least 4 hours before cooking. Bring the lentils, fresh water and ground turmeric to a gentle simmer and cook until soft - around 30-40 minutes, adding more water if necessary.

2. Once the beans are cooked, heat the ghee in your smallest pan/saucepan, add the asafoetida ad allow to sizzle for 5 seconds. Add the cumin seeds and cook for 30 seconds until the seeds have darkened and become aromatic. Add the remaining spices, let them sizzle for 20 seconds then tip into your soup and stir through. Simmer for a further 5 minutes, add salt and lemon juice to taste. Garnish with chopped fresh coriander.

Till next time!

Ladybird x

Cookbook of the Month - June 2011

It is with much delight that I announce the Cookbook of the Month for June. It has been a little while since I've done this feature, so I've put quite a bit of thought into choosing something interesting for you, my precious readers!

This month's book comes from British-Indian celebrity chef and author Anjum Anand. You may remember I have featured some of her recipes on Diary of a Ladybird previously, such as my post on Carrot Kheer. At any rate, this month's book focuses on creating delicious food for optimum health by following ayurvedic diet principles.

Introducing Eat Right for your Body Type by Anjum Anand:

I have personally had a great experience with this book, and feel I must share with you that it was whilst follwing the guidelines in this book that I became pregnant with our little one currently on the way... Coincidence perhaps, or perhaps my body was in optimum health! I am no longer following the guidelines as strictly, but am definitely mindful of them in my everyday eating. So you never know - even if you have never heard of ayurveda before, I would urge you to keep an eye on this month's feature... I'll be sharing some great recipes from the book,some of which are Indian in influence, others more 'western'. I do hope you enjoy them :)

So what is ayurveda?
As described on Anjum's website:
Ayurveda is an ancient Indian science and is thought to have formed the backbone of many of the Eastern holistic medicines. It had a unique way of looking at the body and understood completely the relationship between food and the body. According to Ayurveda, what you eat can affect how you look, how you feel, who you are and most importantly, your health!

What are the 'Doshas'?
Everything in the universe is made up of the same 5 elements; air, ether, water, earth and fire. We have all 5 elements in our bodies but generally not in the same proportions, there will be more of one or two of them. These excess elements give us our own individual (elemental) imbalance (our personal DNA). In Ayurveda, these imbalances are grouped into three and are known as doshas. The three doshas are vata (an excess of ether and air), pitta (an excess of fire) and kapha (an excess of earth and water). Most of us a combination of two doshas but generally even here, one will dominate. Our dosha (imbalance) will determine who we are, how we look, how we think, our temperament and our tendencies.

Which dosha am I?
I thought you might be curious like I was! Click here to download a quick and easy questionnaire. Once you complete it you will not only be aware of your dosha, but you will also be able to see how the recipes I'm featuring will be of benefit to you, and how you can alter them to better suit your dosha.

To read more about your dosha, go to the bottom of this page on Anjum's website and click on the relevant dosha: http://www.anjumanand.co.uk/ayurveda/

More on this feature in the coming days :)

Ladybird x

PS - Did you know that you can now subscribe to Diary of a Ladybird by email? To receive new posts straight to your inbox, please submit your email address in the widget on the right hand side of the page.

Mace Restaurant, St Leonards

I'm always up for Indian food because it's one of my favourite cuisines, but it can be a bit tiresome encountering the same menu wherever you go... but now and then you hear about something a little different that makes you sit up an take notice. So, when I had the opprtunity to try out Indian style tapas at Mace Restaurant (formerly known as Qmin) in Sydney's north shore area, I jumped at the chance.

Mr Ladybird and I selected a tasting menu to sample 6 different dishes ($75 per person, excluding breads and accompaniments). To start off with, we enjoyed Badal Jaam - Eggplant Slices, pan fried with tomato and yoghurt relish and Bhutte Ke Pakode - Sweet Corn Fritters, with fresh chillies and chickpea batter with a side of mint sauce. In both of these dishes, I can definitely see the tapas concept - small portions of finger food perfect over drinks.

We also enjoy a serve of Ragda Petis - a delicious chaat recipe with potato croquettes topped with with chickpeas and chutneys.

We then move onto mains - a beautiful smorgasbord of dishes to be enjoyed with basmati rice and naan. For our three main dishes we choose Kadhai Subzi - mixed Vegetables in tomato sauce, crushed coriander seeds and the Palak Paneer - curd cheese with pureed spinach and spices.

For both of us though, the standout main is the Bhindi Amchur - okra stir fried with onions and dried mango. Dishes like this make me think what an underused okra is - cooked right it is absolutely delectable!

No Indian feast is complete without good accompaniments, and we both like the onion & tomato raita. The sourdough naan is something special.. a first for both of us and we were impressed by the light texture and flavour - a nice contrast to the rich food.

Mace Restaurant (formerly known as 'Qmin')
Shop 5, 207 Pacific Highway
St Leonards, NSW
(02) 9966 5557
http://www.macerestaurant.com.au/

*** Mr & Mrs Ladybird dined as guests of Mace Restaurant ***

South Indian Vegetable Curry

This year has been a bit up and down for me health-wise, and so all things health have been on my mind of late. It will all be fine, but it's been a little emotionally and physically exhausting at times... In the spirit of good health I bookmarked this recipe in this month's Cookbook of the Month, 'Kitchen' by Nigella Lawson. It is a great way to pack loads of vegetables into a delicious curry.

Indian cuisines features regularly in the Ladybird household for two key reasons. First, Mr Ladybird and I both love indian vegetarian cuisine and all of its glorious diversity and, secondly, Mr Ladybird is Indian-Australian so indian food is close to his heart.

For me, dry roasting spices (cumin and coriander in this case) in a pan and then grinding them in the mortar and pestle is well worth the effort. It tastes so much better than packaged ground spices!

South Indian Vegetable Curry (serves 6)
Recipe adapted from Kitchen by Nigella Lawson - items in italics are either new additions, or ingredients where the original quantity has been altered.

2 x 15ml tablespoons canola oil
1 onion, peeled, halved and cut into half moons
1 large garlic clove, chopped
sea salt flakes
1 green chilli, de-seeded and finely chopped
2cm chunk fresh ginger, peeled and cut into fine strips
1/4 teaspoon crushed chilli flakes
good pinch mustard seeds
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 heaped teaspoon ground cumin
1 heaped teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 x 400ml can coconut milk
600ml vegetable stock
approx 2 teaspoons raw sugar
1 x 15ml tablespoon tamarind paste
350g cauliflower, broken into florets
100g fine beans, trimmed and halved
125g baby corn, halved
150g sugar snap peas
2 x 15ml tablespoons chopped coriander

Method

1. Heat the oil in a thick-bottom casserole or large saucepan and add the mustard seeds. Once they have almost finished popping, immediately add the sliced onion and garlic sprinkled with some sea salt and fry until it begins to soften, then add the chopped fresh chilli and ginger strips and stir every now and again while cooking for a minute.

2. Now add the crushed chilli flakes, the turmeric, and ground cumin, coriander and ginger. Stir well and cook for another minute or so before pouring in the coconut milk, stock ,sugar and tamarind paste. Stir to combine.

3. Bring to the boil, add the cauliflower florets and baby corn first and cook for 10 minutes, then add the other vegetables. Check the vegetables after about 5 minutes or so to see if they are almost done, letting them cook for longer if they need it.

4. Once the vegetables are tender season well to taste with salt (and sugar if needed). Sprinkle with the fresh coriander, in a bowl on top of some basmati rice or with some warmed Indian flatbread on the side for dunking.

The Verdict
I tweaked this recipe quite a bit because I felt that it needed a bit more 'oomph'... not that it wouldn't have been nice otherwise, but because I personally found it slightly insipid without the extras. Everyone's palate is different though...


Till next time...

Ladybird x

Naan & Butter Pudding with Rhubarb & Ginger Compote

I've never really liked traditional bread and butter pudding... to be honest the concept has never really appealed to me. I have always felt it is one of those stodgy puddings that has gone out of vogue for a reason. I could be wrong, but that was my impression until I came across this bread and butter pudding with an Indian twist. Here the bread is replaced with naan. I picked up an extra plain naan from our favourite Indian restaurant a couple of days ago, and it waited patiently in the fridge to be transformed into a cosy, comforting dessert.

I came across this recipe while watching an episode of Poh's Kitchen last month. You remember Poh, don't you? She was the runner up on Season 1 of the Australian Masterchef series, the girl with the infectious laugh and big smile :) At any rate, in each episode, she is joined by a guest chef. On this occasion, it was Ragini Dey from South Australian restaurant 'Dhaba'.

I have adjusted this recipe for the use of a medium size naan (about the size of a normal dinner plate). This makes 2 generous size puddings using 1 cup (250ml) capacity ramekins.

Naan & Butter Pudding
1 medium Plain Naan

3 free range eggs
1½ cups milk
½ cup sugar
½ vanilla bean (or ½ tsp vanilla bean paste)
50g butter
Icing sugar for dusting

Rhubarb & Ginger Compote
2 cups cleaned diced rhubarb
½ cup sugar
1 tsp finely chopped ginger
¼ cup water

Heat the milk with the vanilla bean (open out and scrape seeds - use both the bean and the seeds). Separately beat the eggs with sugar till well mixed. Add the butter to the hot milk and let it melt. Cut the Naan into four pieces and place in individual dishes. Strain the milk gradually into the eggs beating vigorously. Top the Naan with milk and egg mixture and let it stand for about 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, start on the compote. Add all ingredients together and cook gently until the rhubarb is soft and a thick syrupy chutney is obtained. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Bake the puddings in a moderate oven (180°C) till set and golden brown on top (mine took about 30 minutes). Dust with icing sugar and serve with Rhubarb and Ginger compote. Leftover compote can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

With Spring now upon us in the southern hemisphere, the warming, comforting foods of colder weather are slowly on their way out, soon to be replaced with fresh, summery food. Although I love the flavours and foods associated with warmer weather, I think I'm going to miss dishes like this one. Oh well, there's still a bit of time to squeeze a few more soups, casseroles, bakes and puddings out of the cool weather!

What about you? Are you going to miss wintery food?

Ladybird x

*** Giveaways Announcement ***

The Bakers Delight Giveaway has been drawn! These lucky readers will be receiving their $5 vouchers shortly...
Laetitia, Meegs5, Sam, Von, Ros, Linda V, Ellie, Simon and Kristy

If you are a winner and have not yet received an email from me, please contact me at diaryofaladybird[at]gmail[dot]com providing your name and postal address. Congratulations! :)

My 100th Post & Birthday Giveaway is closing soon, have you entered? The giveaway will be drawn on September 19. Good luck!

Zaaffran, Darling Harbour

Last weekend some friends and I headed to Zaaffran in Darling Harbour Sydney for a wonderful Indian feast. I even skipped lunch to make room in my stomach for the occasion.. and skipping meals is not something I do very often because I tend to turn into a bit of a monster on an empty stomach!

Zaaffran is one of the first Indian restaurants I visited in Sydney and it is a beautifully located place to dine - the view over the twinkling harbour is undeniably pretty by night.

Let's get straight to the food though. We enjoyed the Vegetarian Banquet available for 4 or more persons at $41.90 per head. This included 2 starters, 5 mains and dessert of the chef's choice. Of course, you also get rice and basic naans.

Our starters for the evening included chaat - a plate of savoury snacks, typically served at cute roadside stalls in India.

Palak patta chana aur aloo ka chaat
Chaat of crispy english spinach leaf, potatoes and chickpeas with roasted cumin, chaat masala, mango powder, yoghurt, date-tamarind and mint toppings. What better way to enjoy spinach I say!

Aloo Makkai Tikki Chaat
Crisp potato and corn mini patties laced with yoghurt, date-tamarind and mint toppings.

Despite the menu description, out plates of chaat arrived with a wonderful beetroot dipping sauce - I just loved the Barbie like colour and it tasted as good as it looked!

And onto the main event for the evening - a fantastic spread of dishes...

Daal Tadkewali - yellow lentils cooked with green chilli, turmeric and curry leaf.
Subz Miloni - a selection of seasonal vegetables, chickpeas and potatoes in a fenugreek-flavoured, garlicky spinach sauce.
Torkari Kalwa - seasonal vegetables in a lemony coconut, onion, tomato and pumpkin sauce with 'qasoori methi'.
Baingan Ki Launj - eggplant in a sweet and tangy tomato, tamarind and jaggery sauce with fennel and nigella seeds.
Paneer Makhan Masala - indian cheese simmered in an onion-tomato masala with ginger, chilli and coriander.

And no feast would be complete without the naan.. oh glorious naan! The second naan pictured was an extra order requested by none other than me.. probably being a bit greedy, but the flavour combination was out of this world - mushroom with truffle oil. Yum!!!

No feast is complete without a little sweet to end the meal. We were served the chef's choice of 2 scoops of mango and rose ice cream. The dessert was ok, but a bit like an afterthought after the great savoury food we had enjoyed. I always think it's such as shame when restaurants are let down by their desserts... They are, after all, the last impression of the meal.

Unfortunately, there service was a little on the slow side despite the restaurant not being very busy for a Saturday night. Nonetheless, we left (rather, 'waddled') feeling very well fed indeed. It was lovely to walk alongside the harbour for a little to work a little before heading home to the satisfying slumber that ensues after a good feast! :P hehe

Zaaffran
Level 2, 345 Harbourside Shopping Centre
Darling Harbour, NSW 2000
Ph: (02) 9211 8900
Website

Homemade Yoghurt & 'Shrikhand'

I was never a big fan of yoghurt until I first tried homemade yoghurt in India at Mr Ladybird's grandparents' home. Since that fateful day, I haven't looked back. Homemade yoghurt is referred to as curd or 'dahi' in India, and most households make their own. It is wonderfully creamy like greek yoghurt and is not as sour as the supermarket-bought varieties. There is also a special satisfaction in making something like this at home... you know exactly what's going into it, it's better for your, and it is so economical!

After much research, tips from in-laws, trial and error, and let's not forget the tears and frustration... at last I can make my own yoghurt! I must also give a shout-out to a certain blogger's post on homemade yoghurt that helped me along the way :) Thanks, Christine!

The first part of this post is about how to make your own yoghurt, and the second is using is to create a beautiful Indian dessert called 'Shrikhand'. This is a sweetened yoghurt infused with spices. In this case, I've used saffron and cardamom for a traditional version of the sweet.

Part 1 - Making the yoghurt
Making your own yoghurt is a bit like riding a bike.. It might take you alittle while to get the hand of it, but once you do, you'll be set for life! Hopefully the recipe and instructions I have set out below will see you on your way to making your own yoghurt and you'll never need to buy it again!

Ingredients
1L full cream, UHT milk*
2 tbsp natural yoghurt **
* You can use fresh milk - I just seem to have more success with UHT milk.
** Once you have made your first batch of yoghurt, you'll be able to reserve some of it to use as a starter for your next batch.

1. In a heavy based medium size saucepan, heat the milk until it's just about to boil. Then switch off the heat, and allow the milk to cool down to luke warm temperature. Once you can dip your pinky finger in the middle of the saucepan comfortably for 10 seconds, you're ready to go. This is the most important part - if it's too hot, the heat will kill the bacteria (don't worry, it's good bacteria!) that forms the yoghurt.
2. Scoop out about half a cup of the luke warm milk into a mug, and mix in the 2 tablespoons of yoghurt with a fork. Then return the milk and yoghurt mixture back to the saucepan and stir gently to combine.
3. Transfer the liquid to a clean dry, 1 litre capacity jar or container with a snug-fitting lid. I used a large coffee jar as suggested and used by Christine in her post.
4. Now for the incubation... The yoghurt needs to be cosy, warm and undisturbed so that it can ferment. I wrapped my jar in a beanie and a hand towel, and placed it next to my heater overnight for 8 hours. You can leave it for longer, but as a general rule - the longer you leave it, the tangier it will become.
5. After the yoghurt has incubated it should be set.  Transfer to the fridge to cease the incubation process and to chill.

Part 2 - Making the 'Shrikhand'
Shrikhand is a popular dessert in Gujarat, which is a state in west India. A common misconception about Indian food in western countries such as Australia is that indian food is pretty much what you find in Indian restaurants. Typically, the food one comes across in indian restaurants is quite Punjabi in style (North Indian). However, in reality, there is huge variety in Indian cuisine. North and south indian cuisine are vastly different, let alone the differences in food from state to state.

1. The first step to this dessert (after making the yoghurt of course) is to 'hang the curd' as is often said in India. Essentially, this means straining the yoghurt to drain off excess fluid so that you're left with thick, creamy yoghurt. This is traditionally done by pouring the yoghurt into muslin cloth, tying it up and suspending it. However, I didn't have any muslin cloth on hand so I improvised with a sieve over a bowl, and I lined the bowl with two squares of kitchen paper towel. Then I carefully poured in the yoghurt.

Then I covered the bowl and left it in the fridge overnight (about 10 hours) to drain.

The drained fluid can be discarded and you're left with lovely, thickened yoghurt. How much? About 500 ml.

Now it's time for the fun part - flavouring the yoghurt! Here's how...

Ingredients
a scant 1/2 tsp saffron threads
1/4 tsp cardamom seeds, powdered with a mortar and pestle
a dash of full cream milk
approx. 4-5 tbsp pure icing sugar, sifted
chopped nuts (I used pistachios) to decorate

1. Heat the milk in a small saucepan/pan or in the microwave, then transfer 2 teaspoons of the milk into a small bowl. Crumble in the saffron and, using the back of a teaspoon, crush the saffron into the milk a little. Set aside for about 10 minutes to infuse.
2. Add the saffron and milk mixture and cardamom to the strained yoghurt, then add the icing sugar and mix through. Add more sugar to taste if you want it sweeter.
3. At this point the shrikhand is ready but I like to refrigerate it overnight if I have time to allow the flavours and colour to develop. Serve in small bowls sprinkled with nuts.

*** No saffron was harmed during this photo shoot. Trust me - every last strand was carefully returned to its box and placed back in the frige! ***

Ladybird x