Home made Frozen Yogurt

Frozen yogurt is the new ice-cream ! Sounds cliched but is true. However what I cannot understand is the fact that people are ready to shell out big bucks for a tiny tub of what is essentially some Greek yogurt dunked in a whole lot of chemicals (???).

Simply going by the definition, frozen yogurt is super cooled yogurt with fruit in it ! And it is super easy to make some at home too. Without resorting to artificial flavors, gelatin and even a ice cream maker. You will just need a regular blender or super fit biceps. Yeah, you need the latter in case you have to beat the yogurt in a big bowl with a heavy metal/wooden spoon to get that creamy consistency.

But rest assured that you will be suitably rewarded for you efforts and patience. Read on for recipe -

Preparation Time - 4-5 hours ( dont worry a lot off it is just standby time)

Ingredients -

• 2 cups hung yogurt or Greek yogurt
• 3 tsp milk
• 4-5 tsp sugar (as per taste)
• 1 cup frozen fruit of your choice

Preparation - Beat the yogurt, milk and sugar till the sugar dissolves. Pop it into the freezer in a freezer-safe bowl.

After 30 mins take it out and churn it in a blender to break the formation of crystals. Put it back into the freezer. This process needs to be repeated 6-7 times to get that creamy texture.

Just before serving, take out the frozen yogurt from the freezer and give it a good buzz with the frozen fruit.

Serve immediately or atleast within an hour ( keep refrigerated till you serve it ).

Note - Vary the sugar as per taste. Sugar free can be used as a substitute if you are ok with using gelatin. The cooled gelatin liquid needs to be stirred into the beaten yogurt.

Dahi Boondi

I love trying out various kinds of 'raita' as it is one of those easy and quick side dishes which really adds that extra bit of zing to any kind of meal. It is always served with heavy and oily dishes as the good bacteria present in the yogurt helps in digestion and also nullifies the irritant effect of the strong spices which are a signature component of Indian food. It also multi-tasks as a palate cleanser. But on the days when one is feeling lazy, a simple raita paired with chapatis/parathas or even with a veg pulao, becomes a complete meal by itself.

While I usually make raita with some vegetable and/or fruit, I sometimes get tempted to try out Boondi raita when there is a packet of 'kara boondi' lying in my kitchen. Read on for easy recipe -

Preparation time - 5 mins (plus 20 mins in the fridge)

Ingredients -

• 1 1/2 cup yogurt
• 1 cup kara boondi
• 1 tsp English mustard 
• 2 tsp amchur powder
• 2-3 green chilis (de-seeded and slit lengthwise)
• chopped coriander for garnishing
• salt to taste

Preparation- Take the yogurt in a mixing bowl. Beat gently to break any lumps. Add salt, English mustard, amchur and green chilis. Mix well. Adjust the consistency by adding 1 - 1/2 cup water along with the boondis.

Chill for 20 mins before serving.

Click here for another version of Boondi raita.

Chaunk wala Raita

This is one of my favorite raita recipes and one that i usually make on a Osa-bara (Vrat) as it does not use onion. As is quite common in Orissa, I use a lot of tempering to add flavour to this otherwise plain Cucumber raita. Read on for the recipe:

Preparation Time - 10 minutes or less

Ingredients - 1 medium sized cucumber, 2/3 cup fresh yogurt, 1 tbs chopped coriander roots, 1 sprig of curry leaves, 1/2 inch long ginger, 2-3 green chillis, pinch of asafoetida, 1 tsp mustard seeds, salt to taste, 1-2 tsp oil.

Preparation - Peel and cut the cucumber into small pieces.

Take the yogurt into a mixing bowl. Add salt and whisk lightly. Add the cucumber pieces.

Take the green chillis, coriander shoots and ginger in a mortar and use a pestle to crush them lightly. Alternatively use a small stone to crush the ingredients.

Cooking - Heat oil in a tempering pan (if you do not have one, use a small frying pan instead). Add the mustard seeds and when they start spluttering add the crushed ingredients. Fry for 1 minute till they release all the flavours.

Add the asafoetida and curry leaves. Remove from the stove and allow to cool for 1 minute. Pour over the contents of the mixing bowl. Mix in the tempering, add a little water if the raita is too thick and adjust the salt if required.

Serve with rice/rotis/puris/parathas and curry.

Dahi Pacchadi ( Apple & coconut raita )

Cooking Time Required: 10-12 mins
Cost of preparation: 25-30 rupees

Ingredients: Yogurt ( 1 cup ), apple ( 1 no ), freshly grated coconut ( 1 cup ), green chillis ( 2-3 nos), pudina/mint leaves ( a handful ), amba ada/mango ginger ( 1 inch ), black salt ( kala namak, 1/5 tsp ), jeera-lanka ( cumin-chilli ) powder ( 1/5 tsp ), oil ( 1 tsp ), mustard seeds ( 1/5 tsp ), chopped graped ( 1/3 cup), sugar ( 1 tsp), salt ( to taste).

Preparation: Cut the apple into small pieces (preferably like matchsticks).

Crush the mint leaves and extract the juice. Crush amba ada and green chillis. Keep aside.

Take the yogurt in a mixing bowl. Add jeera-lanka powder, amba ada, green chillis, mint juice, sugar, black salt and salt along with 3-4 tbs water. Beat well.

Add the apple pieces and grated coconut to the mixing bowl with required amount of water and mix well.

Heat the oil in a wok. Add the mustard seeds to it. Pour the spluttering seeds over the contents of the mixing bowl. Garnish with chopped grapes. ( Optional: Few mint leaves can also be added to the garnish )

Serve as a side-dish with any non-vegetarian/vegetarian meal.

Note: Mango ginger is a herb of the turmeric family. It has a mild mango flavour with notes of ginger. Used for tempering dals, raita, chutneys and pickles.