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Shrikhand Tarts

27th October 2011 By Urvashi Roe

When I was little I could never remember the names of all my aunties so I gave them nicknames.  Noisy Auntie, Leicester Auntie, Pink Saree Auntie etc.  This recipe for Shrikhand is associated with ‘Socks Auntie’.  She used to make it for me when I was pregnant because it’s my most favourite Indian dessert AND because feeding is what Indian aunties do when you are pregnant!

It’s a rich, sweet yoghurt spiced with cardamom and sometimes saffron which is usually eaten at Diwali though I also had it at my wedding.  This recipe uses a traditional method to get as much water out of the yoghurt as possible to make the consistency thick and smooth.   I can eat gallons of this on it’s own but here I’ve served it in a simple sweet pastry case with pomegranates on top.  The chocolate swirly things  just make it feel a bit more special.

You’ll need

For the pastry

  • 150g plain flour
  • 2 tbsp icing sugar
  • 75g cold unsalted butter chopped into cubes
  • 2-3 tbsp iced water
  • butter for greasing

For the Shrikhand

  • 500ml plain yoghurt
  • 5 tbsp caster sugar
  • 1 tsp ground cardamom – I use fresh kernels and grind them just before use in a pestle and mortar
  • 12 unsalted pistachios – finely choppped
  • a few strands of saffron – optional

EQUIPMENT

  • A food processor
  • A wad of newspapers – My preference is the sports section
  • A muslin cloth or tea towel
  • 4 loose bottomed tart tins (3 inch diameter)

To make them

  1. First start the Shrikhand and get the water out of the yoghurt. Lay a wad of newspapers on your worksurface and cover them with the muslin cloth.
  2. Pour the yoghurt on top and flatten it out across the muslin.
  3. Leave this for a couple of hours (overnight somewhere cool if you like) for the water to draw out into the newspaper.  The longer you leave it the thicker the Shrikhand will be.
  4. Now make the pastry cases. Put the flour, icing sugar and butter in a food processor and blitz til the consistency is like breadcrumbs.
  5. Pour in the water while the processor is on until balls of dough form.  don’t over process.
  6. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it lightly into a ball.
  7. Wrap it in clingfilm and pop it in the fridge for at least half an hour.
  8. Put the oven to 180C at this point.
  9. Grease each tart tin with the extra butter  – around the sides and the bases – and set aside.
  10. Take the pastry out of the fridge and divide it into 4 equal sized balls.
  11. Roll each ball out until it’s a few millimetres thick and then line each tart tin.
  12. Pop these in the freezer for 10 minutes.
  13. Take them out of the freezer, line them with greaseproof paper and baking beans and bake them for 10 minutes.
  14. After 10 minutes, take the paper and baking beans off and then bake them again until they are golden brown – another 5-8 minutes.
  15. Leave them to cool in their cases and then on a wire rack.
  16. While they are cooling, finish off the Shrikhand.  Scrape the yoghurt off the muslin cloth and into a bowl.
  17. Add the caster sugar, cardamom, saffron and chopped pistachios and mix well.
  18. Leave to cool in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.
  19. Compile the tarts by simply spooning the Shrikhand into the pastry cases and sprinkling pomegranate and more chopped pistachios on top.
P.S – Sock Auntie gets her name from the brightly coloured socks she wears under her sarees! I think she’d like these and the Brandy Snaps.   

Related

Filed Under: Sweet Tagged With: baking, cardamom, diwali, indian food, tart, yoghurt

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Hi I'm Urvashi!

I love food. This blog is a little glimpse into my foodie world which is an escape from two teenage girls, a busy job and my little cafe.

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