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Kesar-Elaichi Shrikhand, Reduced Sugar

The Maharashtrian and Gujarati festive dessert of strained, sweetened curd with saffron and cardamom — made here with a third of the usual sugar and a spoon of milk powder for extra creaminess.

Region

Maharashtra (also Gujarat)

Status

Adaptation — sugar reduced by about two-thirds; milk powder added

Diet label

Strictly vegetarian, egg-free

Time

Strain 6–8 h · Prep 10 min · Chill 1 h

Serves

2 (about 165 g each)

Difficulty

Easy

Good for

Festivals (Gudi Padwa), with puri or on its own

Tags

High protein · Soy-free · Whey-free · Gluten-free · Meal-prep friendly

Allergens

Milk, tree nuts (pistachio)

Nutrition (estimated)

Calories

245 kcal

Protein

13 g

Carbs

23 g

Fat

11 g

Fibre

<1 g

Headline values are per serving, as written.

High protein. Traditional shrikhand often uses 30–40 g sugar per serving; this uses 10 g. Hung curd estimated from toned-milk curd at the straining yield given in the ingredients. Values checked against IFCT 2017 on 15 Oct 2026.

Ingredients

• 260 g hung curd (chakka), from about 600 g toned-milk curd strained 6–8 hours in the refrigerator
• 20 g powdered sugar · 20 g skimmed milk powder
• A generous pinch of saffron soaked in 10 ml warm milk · ½ tsp cardamom powder · pinch of nutmeg
• 10 g pistachios, slivered

Method

1. Tie the curd in a muslin cloth and hang it, or set it in a sieve over a bowl, in the refrigerator for 6–8 hours until thick and no longer dripping.
2. Push the hung curd through a fine sieve (or whisk hard) with the sugar and milk powder until completely smooth and glossy — this is what gives shrikhand its texture.
3. Stir in the saffron milk, cardamom and nutmeg.
4. Chill at least 1 hour. Serve topped with pistachios.

Protein optimisation

• Hung curd supplies 8.5 g per serving, milk powder 3.5 g, pistachios 1 g.
• Boost: replace 60 g of the hung curd with Greek yogurt with a higher protein label (often 10 g per 100 g or more; about +1 g protein per serving).

Variations, serving and storage

• Regional: amrakhand — fold in 60 g Alphonso pulp and reduce sugar to 10 g (similar total sugars).
• Substitution: 15 g jaggery powder for the sugar (similar calories, a caramel note; colour turns beige).
• Storage: 3 days refrigerated.
• Food safety: always strain curd in the refrigerator, not at room temperature.
• Meal prep: excellent.

Nutrition values are estimates calculated from the Indian Food Composition Tables 2017 (ICMR-NIN) and typical product labels. They have not been laboratory-analysed and will vary with your ingredients, brands and cooking. Recipes are for healthy adults and are general information only, not a substitute for advice from a doctor or qualified dietitian. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, cooking for children, have food allergies, or live with kidney disease, diabetes or any other medical condition, please take professional advice about your diet. From the collection Protein-Rich India by Dr. Shantanu Deshpande · drshantanudeshpande.com