How To Make Hung Yogurt
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In my little home town in India, there was a train station. Even 25 years ago, thousands of people passed through that station every day on their way to work and school. The footpaths leading up to the train station would be dotted by local women on one side, farmer’s wives selling fresh produce arranged beautifully in baskets. The other side would have deli like shops, individual specialty stores that sold tea, coffee, cheese, yogurt, spices and exotic kitchenware. I loved walking on the footpath, a narrow pathway winding through these magical stores to the left and women hawking their strawberries, eggplants, chilies, okras and mangoes to the right.
I remember my nose starting to prickle with the first whiff of a milky, cheesy aroma and my pace would quicken as I would walk toward a gloomy looking store that emanated a cool drift. Through glass doors I would cup my hands around my eyes and peek in. It was the same scene every time. The man with the big beer gut slumped back on a low raggedy chair, fanning his face with the day’s newspaper. In front of him on an equally low counter would be rows of massive steel platters carrying pyramids of what looked like very thick molten yogurt, covered with a netting of sorts to keep the flies at bay. Behind him would be my object of fascination. A massive hook suspended from the ceiling dangling a giant white pouch, big enough to look like a person bundled up in white. And falling from the bottom of the white pouch would be a steady drip drip drip of a greyish-greenish water that would collect in a bowl large enough to be a birdbath for 20 birds. This was the Shrikhand shop and that massive lump of white draining away was hung yogurt.
To a wide eyed little girl, being able to turn plain old yogurt into something more was quite magical. 25 years later, I haven’t lost any of that wide eyed wonder and get instantly excited about trying to take food to new heights. Hung yogurt is one of those things. Once you start making it in the sanctity of your kitchen, you realize the power it gives you to create your own fresh unprocessed dips, desserts and spreads.
Hung yogurt is quite simply the thick creamy yogurt you are left with after you drain the yogurt in a muslin or cheese cloth hanging from your kitchen tap. The liquid that drains out is whey which is excellent for cooking or to thin your smoothies. Hung yogurt takes about 5 hours to make and keeps well in the fridge for a week. It is a great light option to have on hand.
HUNG YOGURT
Preparation Time – 10 minutes
Making Time – 5 hours
Makes – 2.5 cups
Ingredients
1kg yogurt (I used full fat sheep’s milk yogurt)
2 cheese cloth squares (30cm)
jute twine
colander and bowl
Method
Place the colander in a bowl. Place the two cheese cloth squares in the colander with the ends hanging over. Place the yogurt in the centre of the cheese cloth. Gather the ends gently and hold them up to form a pouch at the bottom. Tie the twine around the gathered ends just above where the yogurt is.
Place the bowl with the colander and yogurt under your kitchen tap or peg or hook (whatever you are using to hang it) and tie the open corners of the cheese cloth around it. Make sure your yogurt pouch is hanging over the colander and bowl to collect the whey and avoid making a mess. Leave this hanging for at least 5 hours.
Untie the twine around the pouch and scoop the hung yogurt into a jar. Use as required.
My Notes
The consistency of the yogurt after hanging for 5 hours is that of cream cheese. You can reduce the hanging time by a couple of hours to get a softer more pliant yogurt. I usually make this using low-fat yogurt which makes it even healthier.
Ways you could use Hung Yogurt
- To make Shrikhand, the traditional Indian dessert flavoured with nuts and fruit.
- As a substitute for cream cheese in desserts.
- To make creamy dips and spreads.
- To use as a marinade base for meats.
- To sweeten with honey and use as a topping instead of cream.
Interesting that it’s a popular way to thicken yoghurt in your homeland too. I made a Middle Eastern version of this recently called Labne. Loved it with garlic and paprika! PS Your photos are gorgeous!
Martyna @ WholesomeCook´s last [type] ..Dinner date panzanella salad
Loved reading you post! My husband simply LOVES Srikhand and hopes I make it at least once in a while but I am just lazy
chinmayie @ love food eat´s last [type] ..Stuffed Bell Peppers (Vegan)
This is beautiful! ¿Can you use any kind of yougurt? Like… even store bought?
I haven’t bought cream cheese in over 10 years… I strain yogurt every week…. I let it sit 3 days in the fridge and get the thickness that most people are use to with cream cheese, and I use 0 % fat skim milk yogurt so there is no fat in my cream cheese and I can slather it on everything without
LunaJune´s last [type] ..Ancient Streets in Pompeii
Leggo spesso i tuoi articoli, li trovo davvero belli!!! Buon fine settimana
Such beautiful memories. I am waiting for summer to make some mango shrikhand for Arvind!
kankana´s last [type] ..Chicken and Orzo Light Soup
I have to give this a go, thanks for the method and the fact that I can make great dips almost from scratch. Fabulous photos. GG
Glamorous Glutton´s last [type] ..Going Bananas
I’ve never heard of the term “hung yogurt,” but I definitely drain yogurt at home to make Middle Eastern labneh! I bet draining yogurt is traditional in far more cultures than I could imagine.
Eileen´s last [type] ..A selection of sandwiches
I feel ashamed I have regarded myself as somewhat of a foodie for a long time, have known about this method, love yogurt, make it myself and have never drained it
! Well, Sneh, tomorrow is the day! And thank you to LunaJune for imparting that low fat yogurt can be used for this!
I meant to leave a comment before. I absolutely adore this post… every element from the story to the photographs and, of course, the directions on how to make your own thickened yogurt (some call it Greek Yogurt, but I think I like how this looks even more)
I’ve been making shrikhant ever since the warmer climate hit us here in the Middle East. Your writing took me back to an era, and I could suddenly picture this railway station and this shrikhant shop in particular, as if I lived there. And those pictures make me ache, really!
Nash at Plateful´s last [type] ..Pineapple Passion Chiller with Curried Chickpeas Salad — Guest Post for Flavour Fiesta
this was such a beautiful ode to hung yogurt that i’m more than inspired to make some myself.
marissa @ the boot´s last [type] ..very berry muffins
Gorgeous photos as usual!
Gaby´s last [type] ..Review: The Imperial Hotel
This looks super yummy- I’m definitely going to give this a go!
Kit´s last [type] ..Book v Film: Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
Gorgeous post as always, Sneh. I love that our cultures share this tradition of straining or hanging yogurt – it is such a versatile blank canvas for all things sweet and savory, isn’t it!
Yasmeen @ Wandering Spice´s last [type] ..Sesame Sauce (Tarator)
I love this process and your fantastic instruction…great post!
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[...] colander and you will be spared a mess. You might need to drain the bowl from time to ttime. See How To Make Hung Yogurt for photos of the process. [...]
This is such a lovely post. Loved reading the write up. It just transported me back in time. Lovely recipe and a great presentation as well
Nandita´s last [type] ..Cauliflower Manchurian
What a wonderful walk to the station! Thank you for sharing the recipe. Not too difficult and with a wonderful home made awesomeness, that you can’t achieve at your local supermarket.
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i love hung yogurt…use it mainly for shrikhand. once in a while for dips
I made this hung yogurt yesterday for a New Year’s Eve party. It was delicious! I mixed in a little bit of salt and served it with a cranberry-raspberry compote on top to spread on crackers. Thanks for sharing!
Claire L´s last [type] ..chocolate hazelnut granola + double almond granola