Bethica Das' Blueberry Shrikhand Recipe

Bethica Das's Blueberry Shrikhand is made with low-fat yoghurt and garnished with chopped nuts, saffron and dry rose petals.

Blueberry Shrikhand

Serves: 2

Ingredients

• 400 gm low fat yoghurt
• 1 cup frozen blueberries
• 1 tsp ghee
• 2-3 tbsp sugar or to taste
• ¼ tsp green elaichi or cardamom powder
• 1 tsp rose water
• Few kesar or saffron strands
• Few frozen blueberries, chopped nuts and dry rose petals to garnish
• Pinch salt

Method

• Pour the yoghurt through a cheesecloth.
  Bring the edges of the cloth together and tie up into a potli.
  Place over a strainer/sieve or channi for the water to drain off.
  Keep this in a bowl and refrigerate overnight.
• Puree the blueberries in a blender and pass through a sieve.
• Heat ghee in a heavy-bottomed saucepan or kadhai.
  Add the blueberry puree along with a pinch of salt.
  Let it simmer over medium-low heat till all the moisture has evaporated.
  Take off, cool and keep aside.
• In a bowl, whisk the hung yoghurt, reduced blueberry, sugar, cardamom powder, saffron and rose water till smooth.
  Refrigerate.
  Spoon chilled blueberry shrikhand into individual bowls.
  Garnish each bowl with the few frozen blueberries, chopped nuts and dry rose petals.
  Relish as an after-meal dessert or for breakfast with puris.

Note: Substitute frozen blueberries for dried blueberries which should be soaked beforehand. The consistency will change a little because frozen blueberries are more mushy.

Skip the sugar and, if required, for a little added sweetness use stevia powder, to make sugar-free shrikhand. Each brand of stevia has its own stevia for sugar substitution ratio provided on its packing.

Vegans may conside using dairy-less yoghurt, now available in India, and skip the ghee.

Weightwatchers could skip the ghee and reduce the sugar.

Bethica Das is a Sharjah-based food blogger.

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