In India Yogurt is known as Curd.
This has always confused me whenever I wanted to buy yogurt since the curd was way more liquid then what I was used to in Europe.
Fresh Yogurt is a necessity in Europe.
We don’t use it to cook up savory dishes, no we use yogurt in Europe as a dessert or for breakfast or even in cakes.
Of course North Indian states cook a lot with Curd and I discovered my love for spiced yogurt dishes such as Chicken Tikka and I also started to incorporate these flavor characteristic in fusion style dishes such as the Lemon Pasta Sauce.
The other day while flipping through a friend’s cookbook, which I has gifted her a few years back, I came across an Indian style spiced yogurt soup.
Soups are absolutely not Indian, in fact I can’t remember ever having tried a traditional soup in a friend’s house or eating establishment, so this spiced yogurt soup was looking very intriguing.
Days and nights passed and I had forgotten about this soup until one night I was without electricity.
Once again I had to adjust because I was hungry and my husband was making an irritated face which means we needed something to make the no light situation sweeter.
A bag of Curd, a few spices and a few chilies later and I had a husband gobbling up peacefully his soup in the dark.
I have made a few versions of this refreshing soup since then.
In fact I came to the conclusion that I preferred it cold on hot days and as you know we are melting in the sun right now.
I do still cook the soup for a short time before blending it smooth and placing it into the fridge before I attack it with some garlic bread.
Of course you can always cook it and eat it hot, because that’s what the original recipe mentioned anyway, but I like the curd flavors cold with the tickling chili sensation on my tongue.
Oh and pray that the cooler temperatures are coming back to Goa, because I want to cook and bake again in peace!!
I have a few recipes for you, including pain au chocolate, fruit bread and other goodies but it’s just unhealthy hot and we ought to take care to not get sick in those temperatures.
Another week and I should be back with the usual posting habits here and just a heads up,… a cookie week is coming up as well. =D
Do you think Curd and Yogurt are the same or are these 2 ingredients different?
- 400 milliliter natural thick beaten Yogurt
- 100 milliliter fresh Cream
- 2 Tablespoon Oil
- 1 Tablespoon ginger Garlic Paste
- 1 flat Teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- ½ - 1 Teaspoon red Chili Powder
- 1 flat Teaspoon Cumin Powder
- 1-3 fresh green Chilies (use according to your heat preferences)
- 4 fresh medium sized Curry leafs
- Salt according to your taste preferences
- Pepper according to your taste preferences
- 1 Tablespoon chopped Coriander to garnish
- In a bowl combine the Yoghurt and Cream.
- Heat up a pan add the oil and stir fry the ginger garlic paste for a minute. Quickly add the turmeric powder, red chili powder and cumin powder. Stir fry for another minute on low heat.
- Pour in the yogurt and cream and mix the whole content well. You will notice the yogurt will get a bit liquid. The cream helps in keeping it all together or you would have curdled yogurt bits.
- Throw in the green chili and curry leafs, salt and pepper according to your taste. Mix well and let it cook for 10 minutes until all the flavors get absorbed into the soup. Stir frequently.
- Take out and discard the curry leafs. Let it cool a bit and then mix the whole content to a smooth soup or directly blend it with a blender stick.
- If you want a warm soup then just reheat the smooth soup or keep it in the fridge and enjoy cooled.
- Don't forget to garnish the soup with chopped coriander (also known as cilantro).
