Commonly Asked Questions About Yogurt and Indian Cuisine (2024)

FAQs

What does yogurt do in Indian food? ›

Commonly, Indian people use yogurt in cooking. This type is called 'Dahi,' which uses Indian cuisine. It adds a creamy and light texture to the dishes without weighing them down. Further, it is a sourcing agent and helps tenderize the meat.

Dahi yogurt is a popular choice for making desserts and savory dishes in Indian cuisine.

Raita is a creamy Indian yogurt sauce or condiment traditionally served alongside spicy Indian dishes. It is used to cool down the palate, often served with spicy curries, dal, tandoori chicken, biryani, rice dishes, kebabs, Indian butter chicken or as a yogurt dip, with a side of roti, paratha, or toasted naan.

Most Indians are vegetarian, and whole-milk yogurt (the only kind Indians eat, by the way, because it's delicious) contains the protein, calcium and fat they need to keep on keepin' on. On a related note, if you have milk, you can turn it into yogurt without losing any volume.

A staple of South Indian cuisine, particularly during sweltering summers, yogurt rice or curd rice in its simplest form is steamed white rice tossed with plain whole-milk yogurt. It is usually eaten cold at the end of a meal to help aid in digestion and cool the palate after eating spicy, warming foods.

When you add yogurt in the initial stage,the spices in the curry and the heat will make it split. Always add whisked yogurt after the curry is sauteed and the raw smell of the spices goes off.

Curd, also mosaru or dahi or Thayir or Perugu, is a traditional yogurt or fermented milk product, originating from and popular throughout the Indian subcontinent. It is usually prepared from cow's milk, and sometimes buffalo milk or goat milk.

Yogurt should be thick Greek yogurt which is not very sour. If you are not sure about yogurt use or afraid it will curdle.. Use half yogurt and half cream and mix it in last step after the curry is ready.

Raita is also sometimes simply called dahi, or "sourmilk", after its main ingredient, particularly in South African Indian cuisine.

The act of stabilizing the yogurt means adding corn starch or flour to the yogurt before adding it to the curry. This will decrease the risk of curdling of yogurt and prevent the proteins from denaturing.

What is another name for Indian yoghurt dish? ›

This cool, creamy condiment is a must with spicy Indian recipes.

Real Indian dahi is full-fat, usually made with milk from a water buffalo (instead of a cow), and gets its thicker texture (mainly, among other reasons) from setting in a clay pot where some of the water evaporates/is absorbed.

While cow's milk yoghurt is the most common variety in India, an oat- or soy-based alternative works really well. Coconut yoghurt isn't recommended, as it will impart too much of the coconut flavour into the food.

Yogurt is essential to Indian cuisine. In a category of food filled with hearty, spicy stews, yogurt is a necessary refresher for tempering all that heat—and it does a far better job at that than water or beer.

Yoghurt is a rich source of calcium, providing significant amounts in a bio-available form. It is also a good source of phosphorus, potassium, vitamin A, vitamin B2, and vitamin B12. It also provides high biological value proteins and essential fatty acids.

1. Add dairy. Many curry sauces have a creamy texture, so try adding more dairy—like Greek yogurt, heavy cream, or a thick non-dairy ingredient like coconut cream—to thicken a watery curry sauce.

A dollop of yogurt or soured cream works wonders on Indian-style curries and your chilli base if you have really gone overboard with heat. Simmer the base gently once you have added it but don't boil it or it may split.

Yes in Indian curries it can be used as a cream substitute (which is also thickens sauces). This is another common thickening agent used within Indian cookery. I like to use Greek style yogurt rather than natural yogurt because it's thick, creamy and it doesn't tend to curdle in the pan.