How To Make Yogurt Two Ways

I grew up eating homemade yogurt - sounds spoiled, but it's actually quite common in Indian households. My father makes the yogurt in our family most of the time. His mother, my beloved grandmother and Dadi as I call her, is #1 yogurt maker if I do say so myself. When our family visits her in India, she makes individual portions of yogurt for us all each day in little stainless steel containers - how cute is that?!

It is totally satisfying and also way more tasty to make yogurt on your own, but I have to admit that you have to have certain things working in your favor to do it right. It definitely helps that my apartment is always steaming hot because yogurt needs a warm temperature to set. I actually end up wearing summer clothes and having cold drinks in the dead of winter. When people come over, they're first confused and then ask for some summer clothes themselves.



My cutest nephew's nanny, Kenda makes yogurt in a crockpot or slow-cooker. I thought this was interesting and wanted to share her recipe in addition to my stovetop one. Also one piece of advice with yogurt is that it may not come out the exact way you want it the first time, but if you keep at it you will figure out what works best for your conditions - kind of like bread making. I have referred to thermometer temperatures in the recipe, but me and my family don't use one. With practice you will be able to feel the right temperature without a thermometer.



Where my mother is from in South India, you typically end a meal with mosaru anna, which literally means yogurt and rice. When I was younger I thought that mosaru anna was one word because everyone says it together all the time:) In my father's home in the North, yogurt is referred to as dahi and often served with roasted cumin powder, bhuna jeera, on top:



If anyone has any other tips from making yogurt, please add them in the comments section. Thanks for sharing your recipe Kenda!

Homemade Yogurt on the Stovetop

Ingredients:
Stainless steel or corning ware dish (any pot that you can use on the stove and in the oven)
1 quart (4 cups) milk - the more fat the yogurt, the creamier it will be
2 tablespoons yogurt starter* (yogurt from a previous yogurt batch that has live bacteria culture and the key ingredient for fermentation)
*you can find starter at some heath food stores or at an Indian family's house (haha), but if you don't have access, you can use yogurt from the grocery - fresher the better to ensure the culture is still live.

Method:
Bring the milk to a boil on the stovetop under a medium flame, making sure not to burn it on the bottom. I like to stir it while it heats up. If you have a thermometer, milk should reach 180 F. Heating the milk kills any competing bacteria and also changes the protein in the milk to allow it to ferment. (Boiling the milk to make yogurt is the practice in India, but store bought yogurt actually is not brought to a boil.)

If you're not paying attention this sometimes happens, but it looks funny:



You can take the layer of cream off the top, but I actually really like it in the yogurt.

Simmer the milk at this temperature for about 5 minutes and stir with a spoon (this is actually optional but my mom does it this way).

Cool the milk so that it is luke warm to touch. If you have a thermometer, should be around 110 F.

Take one tablespoon of yogurt starter and add it to the milk. Completely blend it in with a spoon or a whisk if you have one.

Take the other tablespoon of yogurt starter and rub it along the inside walls of the dish that is holding the milk and the other tablespoon of yogurt starter. (My father says the walls of the dish are actually where the fermentation of the yogurt begins)

Place the dish in the oven with the light on*. Correct temperature for setting yogurt is around 100 F. Yogurt should set after 4 or 5 hours. If you like more sour tasting yogurt, you can leave it in longer.

Place yogurt in the refrigerator to cool.

Take two tablespoons of this yogurt and set aside for starter for your next batch of yogurt.

*If you don't have an oven light, you can preheat your oven to 150 F and then turn the oven off right before you place the yogurt in. Monitor the oven so that it stays at about 100 F. You can try wrapping the yogurt in a cloth as well to keep it warm. If not using an oven I've heard some people use a heating pad, electric blanket and/or towel. Just need to make sure the temperature does not get too hot because it will kill the culture.

Homemade Yogurt in a Crockpot, recipe courtesy of Kenda

Ingredients:
At least a 2 quart crockpot
½ gallon of milk
1/2 cup yogurt starter or yogurt with live culture

Method:
Turn on your 2 quart crockpot to low and pour in ½ gallon of milk. Heat on low for 2 ½ hours. (If you have a bigger crockpot, you will need to hear the milk about 15 minutes longer.)

After 2 ½ hours, turn the crockpot off. Unplug it and let the milk cool in the crock with the lid on for 3 hours

After 3 hours, remove ½ cup of warmed milk and place in bowl. Add 1/2 cup of yogurt with live active cultures and mix well. Pour the mixture back in to the crock and whisk thoroughly.

Place the cover back on the crock and wrap the entire crockpot with a blanket or a couple of thick towels. (I use a blanket and a towel just for good measure.)

Let it culture overnight, about 8-12 hours.

If you like a really thick yogurt, in the morning pour it into a colander lined with cheese cloth. The longer you let it strain the thicker it will be. When I strain it I get about 1 quart of yogurt. When I do not strain it I get just over 2 quarts of yogurt.

I mix my yogurt up before storing it.

You can keep a ½ cup of this back for your next batch or buy your favorite and freeze it in ½ cup portions for latter use. It should say “live active cultures” and also needs to be plain.

Tandoori Tofu Curry for Ediomi

A couple weekends ago, my friend Ediomi asked me to prepare a dish for her birthday/fundraising event to benefit her non-profit, Converse 4 A Cure. She founded this organization to raise awareness and educate people about Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) through art, fashion and entertainment. The overall mission is to capture the attention of those uninformed about the disease and to create innovative forums for discussion while raising funds for research.

I was thrilled to contribute to this event not only because Ediomi is a good friend but also because she lives with SCD. Sickle cell is an extremely painful disease and despite all she has experienced, Ediomi remains positive and continues to work tirelessly for the cause. She is an inspiration. And the lady is only 25!

For the event, I made a tandoori tofu curry and mint chutney. Since Ediomi is vegan, I prepared a non-dairy tandoori marinade with soy yogurt and also threw in some agave nectar because I know how much she loves the stuff:) The curry and chutney were served over jallof rice prepared by Ediomi's mom. Jallof rice is eaten in Nigeria and a few other West African countries on special occasions. It's made with bouillon, tomato paste, fresh onions, peppers and West African spices. Indian and Nigerian food make a good combo. In a later post I will share her mom's recipe:

The event was a lot of fun and

Ediomi had three really great acts perform:

Black Circle Symphony

TaLONTED

Asha

Thanks for inviting Ediomi! Can't wait for the next one:)

Lauren, Asha and me with Ediomi

To learn more about SCD, go here.

Vegan Tandoori Marinade
makes 2 cups

Ingredients:

1/2 onion, chopped rough

2 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons fresh ginger
2 teaspoons garam masala
1 teaspoon roasted cumin powder

1 teaspoon roasted coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon Kashmiri mirch or paprika
1/3 teaspoon turmeric
juice of 1 lime
1 teaspoon agave
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1 1/2 cup plain flavored soy yogurt

Method:
Puree all ingredients except for yogurt in a blender. Mix in soy yogurt.

Tandoori Tofu Curry
serves 40 very small portions or 10 main portions

Ingredients:

4 bell peppers - any color, chopped into medium size pieces:

3 14 oz packages of firm tofu, cubed evenly

1 onion, chopped fine
3 cloves garlic, minced

Vegan Tandoori Marinade
oil for frying
lemon

cilantro
salt

Method:
In one bowl coat the tofu with the marinade. Mixing by hand is good so that the tofu does not break.

In another bowl coat the bell peppers with marinade.

Refrigerate both for 3-4 hours or overnight.

After tofu and peppers are done marinating, fry onion and garlic and set aside.

In a non-stick pan, fry up the tofu. Place tofu cubes in the pan and cook until one side is brown and then carefully turn the tofu over until it is firm and browned. Try not to turn it too often or the tofu will break. Also just put one layer at a time and make sure at least one side of a piece of tofu is touching the bottom of the pan - no overlapping. Depending on how much tofu, you may have to do a few batches. It gets kind of messy too so wear an apron:)

In another pan, fry up the peppers until cooked through.

Toss all of the ingredients together in a dish. Mix in some cilantro and a few squeezes of lemon. Add salt to taste.

*I'm sure baking also would work. Just use parchment paper when you do this so it does not stick.

Indian Tea Sandwiches

The idea of tea time came to India from the British, but the tradition is still very much alive. I've always loved this time of day when visiting my grandmother. She makes it a point to serve tea and also some savory and sweet snacks every afternoon.

This past Sunday was my birthday and I wanted to make something for my friends to enjoy at the party so I decided to make tea sandwiches! Tea sandwiches made in Indian homes and in India usually have some spicey pickle or chutney inside, along with some sort of vegetable, cucumber or boiled potato and softened butter or cream cheese as a spread.

This is my recipe for tea sandwiches with mint chutney cream cheese and cucumber slices. Enjoy!

The mint chutney I made for these sandwiches is really simple and makes about 1 cup. It's the kind that usually goes with samosas or fried foods and I first had it homemade when visiting my relatives in Delhi. This is my version:

Mint Chutney

Ingredients:

2 cups cilantro leaves and stems (cut just 2 inches below where leaves begin)

1 cup mint leaves

3 green chilis

1 teaspoon cumin powder

pinch of hing or asafoetida

2 tablespoons lime juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon grated ginger

1/4 cup red onion

1/2 teaspoon agave or sugar (optional)

~1/2 cup water

Method:

Puree all ingredients in blender and add as much water to get to the consistency you want.

Indian green chilis (if you don't have can use jalapeno):

Indian Tea Sandwiches

makes about 40 little sandwiches

Ingredients:

Loaf of bread (I like any grain or whole wheat variety)

8 ounces softened cream cheese

~4 ounces mint chutney

cucumber, peeled and sliced thin

salt

Method:

Mix softened cream cheese and mint chutney. You can add more or less mint chutney depending on taste and have some reserve to spoon a little more on top of the cucumber for extra spice. Add a little salt before closing the sandwich. This is how you make it:

Cut the bread into triangles or rectangles. For a variation, you can toast the bread.

Masala Loca in the New York Times!

The New York Times did an article on local food markets and they mentioned Masala Loca as one of the vendors at the Greenpoint Food Market "Worth Tasting." It was already such a great experience for me and Sabra to sell at the market, but it's definitely nice to hear that people enjoyed our food and recommend us:) The next GFM is June 26th and we will be there. Come out!

Noon - 5PM
Church of Messiah
129 Russell Street
Brooklyn, NY 11222

Indian Tamales

I first made tamales with my friends Jo and Alana. We had maybe 10 different fillings which was really great because every tamale was different - seitan, greens, cheese, avocado, plaintains, beans, etc. It's a fun activity to do with friends because you can sit and talk while you fill and wrap the tamale pouches. I found also that everyone has their own style - making them big or small, shaping them into little rectangles or rounder shapes, and either folding them over or tying the ends.

I had such a great time making those that I wanted to serve them at one of Sabra and my supper clubs, but add an Indian twist to them. Also, we both liked the idea of serving tamales to our guests because each one is like a personally wrapped gift. We had a practice session where we tried baking them (not my favorite) and steaming them (with a too small steamer, which I don't recommend!).

By the time our dinner came around, we had figured out a good system. We ended up making the tamale dough with ghee instead of vegetable shortening. The ghee is a really good binder and of course tastes great! Also since we knew we would be making them the night before the dinner, we figured steaming (this time in a big steamer) would be the best option for reheating them. My friend Ben also had given the idea of frying them in their husks, which would also be a cool idea to try, but we had so many that steaming worked perfectly for us.

Me and Sabra's tamale operation:

This was a baby tamale that we used as a tester. Very cute guy:

We filled one with tamarind chutney (recipe below) and a white melty cheese (mozzerella is good) and one with mustard greens, spinach and ramps curry (omit tofu) and jack cheese. We served them with a mint chutney and a makhani sauce or butter masala sauce (recipe below).