Piyush

Piyush is a rich creamy drink. It brings back lot of my childhood memories. It also reminds me of a small restaurant called 'Prakash' at Charni Road, which serves the most delicious and best Piyush in the city. Seeing my craze for the drink and to discourage me from indulging in drinking Piyush, my grandmother used to tell me that Piyush is made from the water used to wash leftover Shrikhand utensils. But after few years, I realized that Piyush is actually made from leftover Shrikhand. Butter milk and nutmeg powder is added to this leftover Shrikhand to give it the right taste and consistency. Since this drink has become so popular in recent years, people especially buy Shrikhand to make this drink. Nutmeg powder is the key-ingredient in this recipe that gives that special taste of Piyush from Prakash.

Yield: Approx. 6 small Glasses

Approx. Preparation Time: 15 -20 min.

Ingredients:
500 gm Curds
1 cup powdered Sugar
1/2 tspn Cardamom Powder
1/2 tspn Nutmeg Powder
A pinch of Salt
16-20 Saffron Strands soaked in milk
1-2 tbspn Kesar-Elaichi Syrup (Optional)

 For Garnishing:

Almond Flakes

Pistachio Flakes

Saffron-Cardamom Syrup

Method:
Take Curds in a muslin cloth and make a tight knot. Hang the Curds for approx.15-20 minutes. In this recipe we are not using Milk or Buttermilk so do not hang the Curds beyond 15-20 mins. Combine the hung curds with powdered Sugar and mix well. Then add Cardamom powder, Nutmeg Powder, Salt and mix. Then add the Saffron strands soaked in milk and mix. Check the colour. If you do not get the desired colour, then add Saffron-Cardamom Syrup to give it a light yellow colour. Whisk it with the help of a hand-blender. Serve the Piyush in a glass and garnish it with Almond - Pistachio flakes and Saffron / Kesar Elaichi Syrup. Refrigerate it for atleast 2-3 hours and serve chilled. 

Notes:
1. The curd should be a little bit Sour since we are not adding buttermilk to this recipe.

2. If you are using left-over Shrikhand, then add some butter-milk / milk or both to adjust the consistency.

3. Kesar Elaichi Syrup has been used to enhance the colour of Piyush. However, the same is optional. 

Stepwise Pictures:

Sending this entry to  Indiblogger contest, Borosil-My beautiful food.