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A good thick homemade yogurt. Freshly set. Warm and mildly sour after sitting overnight in a cozy spot. Not cold or straight out ofthe fridge. Creamy and custard like thick. Not gelatin thick andcertainlynot pectin thick. One thatdoes not jiggle when the container is tilted from side to side, but peels away lightly and gives way to whey when scooped with a spoon. I’ll tell you all the secrets on how to make a good Homemade yogurt with or without starter culture.
Where should I start about Yogurt?
If I get carried away which I almost always do, I might start onapoetic note. Such as,if yogurt was a flower, I’d imagine it would be magnolia or white rose.But I am glad it isn’t.Because, hypothetically speaking, if there’s one good reason I can’t be a full time vegan, it has got to be yogurt other than ghee of course.
Really. You know what is indispensable in my kitchen?Store bought yogurt doesn’t compare to that. Not even the organic. MakingYogurt at home is incredibly satisfyingjust as much as making Ghee from scratch or baking one’s own bread if not more but with far less effort than either of them.
Throughout my childhood, homemade yogurt was taken for granted. It was presumed to be there,always.Though yogurt making wentunnoticed as it happened past our bedtime, boiling milk was a different storyand a tedious ritual in itselfin my grandfather’s house where I spent all my childhood years.Everyevening, freshly home delivered milk wasbrought to a slow boil on simmer over a period of anhour or two way past sunset untila thick layer of light yellowish cream formed on topmilk. Then,boiled somemore tillthe cream layer broke through. And boiled again at night as we kids went to sleep.
The next day, it would appear in front of us at lunchtime in atall stainless steel vessel brimmingwith thelightest pinkish yellow shade of yogurt dressed with an inch of rich creamy blanketon the top. Lunchwould end on a happy note with a scoop of this heavenly yogurt mixed with plain rice (curd rice as we call it) andan optional side of pickle–mango, lemon or whatever was freshly made and in season.
Acomforting closure to a an everyday meal that started back thencontinues to comfort us even today.
Milk turning into yogurt overnight is magic.There’s so muchphysics (liquid converts to semi-solid), chemistry (lactose aka milk sugars are broken down intolactic acid) and the obvious biology (bacteria causing fermentation of the milk)all going on inone place. And yet, the naked eyesperceive it asjust milk turning into yogurt.
Yogurt making is magic.Itis definitely science.As well as art. I say art because, besidesscience, it takes a littleTLC ofnurturing hands to set thick yogurt consistently apart from the actual fermentation that happens on its own. I’ll tell you why.
I have seen my mom-in-lawmake homemade yogurt night after night religiously, a nighttime ritual set in my mind like the yogurt itself.It is just one of the many things that she goes about doing effortlessly, never giving it even a passing thought.Being themeticulous one that she is in everything she does,she made sure to be mindfully present through each of the steps as if she was in a chemistry lab, executing themto precision. Standing vigil to the boiling milk, cooling it in a water bath to the right temperature –not cold, not warm, not room temperature, not tepid, just hot enough to touch,stirring in the right amount of starter and following all of thisconsistently everyday.
I had neverseenyogurt making given its due diligencethis way before.Her methods yielded each time and every timeayogurt not mundane, but a treat that each one of us wanted to cut into to get the first spoonful of.Many of the tips on this post arewhat I’ve learntfromclosely observing her yogurt making techniques.
I am partial towards traditional cooking methodsand cookwarewhich I have talked about often. I was always fascinated with yogurt made in traditionalearthenware.Especially non-glazed natural clay pots. Beingporous,clayabsorbs watermakingyogurt thicker, creamier and keeps itcooler naturally. It is crucial to properly season the clay pot beforehand else the curd will have a mud like taste. Someday, I want to try making Yogurt in the traditional soap stonewareaka kal chattilike in olden days.
We Indians eat copious amounts of yogurt.Making yogurt at home is the easiestway to keep up with the perpetualdemand for this white gold.
Yogurt is a one stop (protein + calcium + fat) piece of the food puzzle in the holistic approach to vegetarian diet.The good bacteria in yogurtwhichwe all now know as the marketed term “Probiotics”aid indigestion.Yogurt has cooling properties, itis good for the gutand in turn forour immune system.Itis suitable even for babies as young as six months whereas cow’s milk is not advised until one year.
Eat your homemade yogurt!
A few of my favoriteways to eat yogurt
I like it in Boondi raitha
I like it in Dahi vada or Thayir Vadai
I likeit in the form of Majjige (Buttermilk)
Or plain mixed with rice and this Lemon pickle
Or this Mango yogurt granola parfait
Or this Bakala bath
Or this Mor Kozhambu
Or lapped up with this Paratha
Yogurt in the absence of starter culture:
I had heard about green chilli stalks used to make yogurt in the absence of any yogurt as starter (homemade or store bought). This was in the olden days. I had never tried it myselfuntilI began to write this post. Though skeptical, Iexperimented with the ideain my kitchen to see if it worksandwas surprised at the results. Itactually worked!
In this picture above, I have lined up for comparison yogurt made using yogurt from previous batch v/s that made using chilli stalk and that made withcurdled milk usinglemon juice. [Check the Tips section below for details]
Homemade Yogurt
Makes about 4 cups
Ingredients
- 4cupsorganic whole milkcow’s milk, approx 1 litre
- 1tsphomemade plain yogurt from previous batch at room temp(starter culture)
Instructions
Place 1 tsp of starter yogurt in a clean container.
Bring milk to a boil stirring intermittently to not let cream from forming or milk from getting burnt at the bottom. Take it off the stove and let it cool either on the counter or in a water bath till steam has ceased and the pot is still hot to the touch (can't hold for more than 3 secs). It should be hotter than room temperature (and stay that way for a couple of hours).
Add this to the container with the starter yogurt and stir well. Cover and let sitin a warm spot untouched and undisturbed for 6-8 hours or overnight. (I leave it in the conventional oven overnight with the oven light on)
To check if it is set, gently tilt the container. Yogurt is set when it is not jiggly or runny and lightly peels away from the sides of the jar or bowl.
Notes
Any non-reactive container will do. Stainless steel, ceramic, glass work well. If using glass jar, fill the jar in hot water before adding the cultured milk to maintain thetemperature.
Always save a couple of tablespoons of yogurt to make thenext batch. That way you'll never run out of starter culture.
Use a washed containerto make yogurt every single time. This keeps the yogurt fresh tasting without any foul taste or smell.
It is important that the starter yogurt is at room temperatureandnot straight out of thefridge.
When milk is simmered longer, it condenses andthe resultant yogurt will be sweeter and thicker.
I use whole milk for kids and 2% for ourselvesand both setvery well.
Yogurt can be made fromlow fat and non fat milk as well. But, it will not be as thick or as creamy.
If making yogurt for your baby, empty baby food jars work very well for the right portion size and are handy and portable. For thicker yogurt, strain it in a muslin cloth or cheese cloth (I use cut pieces from soft cotton Dhoti). Do not discard the whey. It is high in protein and can be used in place of water to kneadsoft Chapathi dough.
If usingfresh raw milk, make sure bring it to a boil to pasteurize it. If using non-hom*ogenized milk (which is how I ate all through my childhood), a layer of cream will form at the top and resulting yogurt will have cream on top too.
To make yogurt making a habit, add it into your night-time kitchen wrap-up routine. After everything is done, set yogurt, put it away and come back in the morning for a perfectly well set freshly homemade yogurt ready to be devoured.
What you don’t need for this recipe
Food thermometer orslow cooker oryogurt maker or any expensive kitchengadget
Which type of milk to use to set yogurt
Organic pasteurised milk – hom*ogenized or non-hom*ogenized
* Not ultra pasteurized (usually sold in tetra paks and sometimes in plastic gallon jugs. read the label to be sure). I avoid buying ultra pasteurized or ultra high temperature pasteurized (to increase shelf life) as it kills all the good bacteria that are needed for the yogurt making process which also kills all the enzymes needed to digest the milk proteins. I’d avoid buying this milk altogether even if it organic.
Organic raw milk – Though I have not found raw milk here in stores, I have used VAT pasteurized grass-fed non-hom*ogenized milk with cream floating on top.
I’d avoid regular milk which comes from cows fed with gmos or injected with rbst hormones.
Tips to set thick yogurt
Milk needs to be hotter than room temperature but not too hot while the yogurt sets. It is crucial to start with hot milk and maintain the ambient temperature during the first couple of hours when the cultured milk coagulates.Touch test for the right temperature –allowthe milkto cool to the point where you can touchthe saucepanfor 3 seconds.
Watch closely while the milk cools or it will become cold. If so, heat it again slightly to bring to the required temperature.
If you live in cold climate, put the yogurt to set in the oven leaving the oven light on overnight.If you don’t have one, the containerwrappedin a warm towel can be placed inside a covered heavy vessel. Keeping inside a pressure cooker works well too,whichever holds the heat better.
In tropical climate, it takes 4-6 hours to set.
Troubleshooting
If the yogurt is too runny or takes longer to set, starter culture was either not enough or milk was not hot enoughwhen culturewas added.
Yogurt will turn out sour if it is kept to set longer than 8 hours (or overnight) or milk is very hot to begin with or the starter yogurt was more in quantity than needed. Extra liquid or whey on top are the tell-tale signs.
To fix sour yogurt, add 1/2 cup water along the sides of the container, let it sit for a bit and strain the extra liquid which reduces the sourness. Sour yogurt works great in recipes like this
What to do with yogurt gone very sour
Don’t discard. Use the solids as a face pack or mix it with henna and apply to your hair for natural coloring and conditioning. Yogurt is a great natural deep conditioner.
If you have a curry leaf plant, drain the whey into the pot. Curry leaf plant thrives with sour yogurt.
In the absence of a homemade yogurt starter culture
1> Borrow a small quantity from a friend or neighbor who makes good homemade yogurt. This is the most common technique used.
2> If there’s no homemade yogurt for starter, any good quality organic store bought plain yogurt will work well as long as it contains live culture (like S. THERMOPHILUS, L. BULGARICUS, L. ACIDOPHILUS, BIFIDUS, L. CASEI, AND L. RHAMNOSU). The texture of the resulting yogurt may be different at first (slimy like the store bought ones as they contain pectin for the consistency). After a few consecutive settings, it will turn out the way homemade yogurt should be – creamy, mildly tart, custard like, gives way to some whey when spooned.
3> Use green chilli stalks as starter
Boil and cool milk as mentioned in the recipe. Instead of starter yogurt, place green chilli stalk in the milk at the required temperature and follow the remaining directions. (I used 1 chilli stalk for 1/4 cup milk)
4> Use curdled milk solids as starter.
Boil and cool milk as mentioned in the recipe. In the pot, retain a little milk and add lemon juice to curdle it and use as starter.
I used 1/4 tsp curdled milk solids for 1/4 cup milk
For curdling, I added1/4 tsp lemon juice to 2 oz boiled milk in the sauce pan and continued stirring on heat until curdled.
Use methods 3 and 4to make small quantity yogurt which can then be used as starter yogurt for the next batch.
Observations:
Yogurt set well in both ways.
Yogurt inoculated with chilli stalk took longer (overnight + 6 hours) to set under the same conditions. It had a mild chilly flavor which should go away in subsequent batches.
Yogurt made with curdled milk solids using lemon juice took overnight + 3 hours to set.
