SHRIKHAND

Ingredients:

Plain yogurt – 1 container, 32 oz
Sour cream – 8 oz
Sugar – ¼ cup or as required
Green cardamom powder – ¼ tsp
Grated nutmeg – 2-3 pinches
Saffron – 5-6 threads
Sliced almonds and pistachio for garnishing

Procedure:

Place the yogurt in a piece of muslin cloth. Tie together all the ends of the cloth and hang it on the kitchen counter. I use the handle of kitchen closet to hang the curd with a bowl below to collect the whey. Let the whey drain overnight. If doing shrikhand in summer or hotter days, then hang the yogurt in refrigerator. If the weather is too hot the yogurt becomes too sour till the whey drains away. Next day take the hung yogurt in a bowl, add sugar and whisk till smooth. Then add the sour cream and continue whisking for 2 mins. Then add the cardamom powder, saffron, nutmeg and half of the almonds and pistachio mix well and keep in refrigerator to cool. Garnish with almonds and pistachio. You can adjust the amount of sugar, according to the sourness of the yogurt. Also you can adjust the amount of sour cream as per your taste.

EGGLESS DATES AND WALNUT CAKE

Ingredients
Dates – 20
Water – ½ cup, warm
Walnuts – ¼ cup, chopped
Maida/ all purpose flour – 1 ¼ cup
Baking soda – 1 ½ tsp
Baking powder – 1tsp
Salt - 1/8th tsp
Condensed milk – 1 can, 14oz
Butter – 1 stick, 1/2cup
Vanilla essence – 1 tsp
Sour cream/ curd – 2tbsp

Cooking procedure:
Soak the dates in warm water for 30-35mins. Then grind the dates into paste. Preheat the oven at 350F. Line the bottom of baking pan with parchment paper. Spray pan with oil spray. Sprinkle some flour till the pan is evenly coated with flour. Remove the excess flour by tapping the pan several times.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Strain this mixture 2-3 times so the cake comes out fluffy. In a large bow, melt the butter and keep aside to cool. After the butter cools mix in the condensed milk, dates paste, vanilla essence and sour cream. Add the flour mixture to the batter in thirds. Combine all the ingredients properly using a whisk/spoon. Stir the chopped walnuts into the batter. Pour the cake batter into the baking pan.
Bake the cake at 350F for first 15 mins and then at 325F for 15-20mins. To see if the cake is cooked, put a knife in the center of cake. If it comes out clean it means the cake is cooked. If uncooked the batter will stick to the knife and you can continue baking at 325F till the knife comes out clean. Cool the cake for 10 mins.