Shrikhand (strained yogurt) with strawberries macerated in Port wine

Shrikhand is a popular western Indian dessert. It is a staple sweet dish in Gujarati and Maharashtrian cuisines. It is actually quite simple to make, especially when you can buy good quality yogurt from the supermarket. Traditionally it is made with curd made with full cream milk. The curd is then hung in a muslin cloth for a few hours or even overnight. The whey drains out leaving behind a thick creamy curd. This is the time consuming part of this dessert. Thankfully, you can shave off a few hours by using a Greek yogurt of any kind - full fat, low fat or even fat free, personally preference being low fat.  Once the desired consistency is obtained, all that remains to do is to sweeten and flavour the curd. Cardamom and saffron are the more common flavourings. Other variations add mango pulp to make the popular Amrakhand.

My variation uses vanilla as the base flavour. I have used a 500g tub of Greek yogurt which makes 2 servings. I have also steeped the strawberries in reduced Port wine and used this as a topping and sauce. This, infact makes a good topping for ice creams as well.

500g low-fat yogurt
2-3tbsp sugar
1 tsp good vanilla extract
Muslin or cheese cloth

For the topping
4-5 strawberries
4 tbsp good quality Port wine
11/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

To prepare the topping

•  Boil the Port wine along with the sugar and vanilla in a small pan. Reduce it to a syrupy consistency. It should just start to coat the spoon. 
•  Allow this cool. It will thicken slightly as it cools.
• Meanwhile, hull and quarter the strawberries. Add the strawberries to the reduced Port and mix well.
• Allow this to marinate in the fridge for at least half an hour.

To prepare the yogurt

• Line the inside of a large strainer with the muslin. The muslin the strainer should be big enough to hold the quantity of yoghurt. Place this over a large bowl in order to collect the whey that drains out. 
• Pour the yogurt into the muslin lined strainer. Bring the ends of the cloth together and tie it lightly at the base.
• Place a small plate of top of this and place some kind of a weight on top. A tin of tomatoes or something equivalent will do nicely.
• Keep this in the fridge for at least 3-4 hours or overnight if you like . If a lot of water collects in the bowl, you may have to drain it in between. The curd will form a solid mass but will feel very creamy to touch - not unlike slightly softened ice cream.
• Transfer the curd to a bowl and beat in the sugar and vanilla extract. The sugar quantity I have mentioned here is just a ball park figure. You can add as much or as little as you like.
• Transfer this into serving bowls and chill in the fridge for another 20-30 minutes to allow the sugar to dissolve fully. 
• Add the topping when ready to serve and serve chilled.

As mentioned, the above quantity makes 2 servings.