I’m a massive clinger. Ever since the summer sun disappeared behind these pesky autumnal clouds, I’ve been doing everything in my power to cling on to the warm days which were so quickly snatched away from me. Sniff.

Due to my recent bitterness towards not receiving delicious freebies on my doorstep like a certain Mr. P, I enquired about sampling some Greek yogurt from Total. Fage Total are specialists in yogurt making and their product range includes choices for all kinds of yogurt lovers. Their full fat Greek yogurt is exactly the thing I need for making Shrikhand. They even have 0% fat and 2% fat Greek yogurts which are perfect for cooking.

Bring. Them. On.

I’ve been rambling on about Shrikhand for absolutely ages, teasing you with recipes like Eggless Saffron and Lemon Shrikhand Cheesecake and Shrikhand Spice Lamingtons. Evil, no?

In all seriousness, I’ve actually been meaning to do this for a long time and thanks to Total, I finally had the motivation to get it done. I chose to combine my sweetened, spiced yogurt with summer berries because I’m so peeved about the fact that they’ve just gone out of season and I hardly got a chance to use them aside from my Chilled Sunshine Berry Soup. Bah, humbug!

If you haven’t been paying attention to my previous posts and don’t know what Shrikhand is then listen up. Shrikhand is a popular Indian dessert made from hung yogurt which is sweetened with sugar and flecked with spices. It is traditionally served with plain puri (little fried breads) and it can also be blended with short grain rice to make a dessert called ‘phirni’. Double delicious.

You can use any kinds of soft fruit in your Shrikhand; mandarins being my favourite. I learnt to make Shrikhand when I was around ten years old and I remember using half a can to decorate it and the other half to satisfy my belly. Better than biscuits, I suppose.

While I was at it, I tried a couple of variations on traditional Shrikhand which I have been curious about. However, I’m afraid that curiosity killed the cat. My results indicated that pandan Shrikhand is a massive no-no, as is honey Shrikhand (because of the spices). I never said they were some of my best ideas.

You need to use both Greek yogurt and sour, natural yogurt because using just Greek yogurt will leave you with a very bland tasting dish. It’s the mixture of sweet, creamy and sour which makes Shrikhand such a wonderful dessert.

Summer Berry Shrikhand
(serves 8-12)

1kg Total Greek yogurt
1kg plain natural bio live yogurt (or another kind of sour yogurt)
400g icing (confectioners) sugar
250g mixed frozen summer berries
½ tsp cardamom powder
2 tsp crushed pistachios

Method

1. Tip both of the yogurts into a clean muslin cloth and tie it up tightly with a piece of string right above the top of the yogurt so that the water can drip away.

2. Tie the muslin somewhere where it can hang with a large bowl underneath to catch the water and leave it for 24-48 hours. Keep tipping away the water as the bowl fills up.

3. Remove the yogurt from the muslin and place it in a large bowl. Add the sugar and mix well.

4. Press the yogurt and sugar mixture through a fine-holed sieve to remove any lumps. Work those biceps.

5. Mix in the cardamom powder and then gently mix in the frozen summer berries. Garnish with the pistachios. Chill in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.

You can’t really go wrong with summer berries. I wanted to replicate the charming look of cheap and tasty raspberry ripple ice cream where streaks of crimson stain the creamy whiteness of the vanilla ice cream. What I ended up with was a pretty pink Shrikhand with specks of deep purples and reds. Note: If you want the former effect, don’t stir it too much.

I have a couple more recipes to post using Total Greek yogurt so keep your eyes peeled for those. I initially did a step by step for this recipe but there was a whole load of hoo-har with the images and my scatterbrain. In other words, I accidently formatted the memory stick with all of the shrikhand pictures and the beautiful snaps from my cousins wedding. You can come around and slap me if you like.

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First, come with me on a strawberry picking adventure…

Chilled soups: They linger like loiterers, typed upon dog-eared menus in questionable restaurants.

Surely this cannot be true?

When I first saw a similar recipe in Kurma Dasa’s Great Vegetarian Dishes, I thought to myself, ‘how is a chilled soup any different to umm… Fruit juice?!’ I hear echoes of you asking me the same question.

So, this distinction is imperative to our exploration of chilled fruit soups- which, by the way, are refreshing and delicious. It’s not that I’m biased or anything. Our fruit soup is sweet, but not fruit juice sweet, smoothie sweet or even preserve sweet. That would be sacrilege. It is slightly sweet, made silky smooth with cornflour, and finished on a slightly savoury note with a pat of creamy salted butter whisked in for a quick gloss. Not a drop of juice in sight.

Still not convinced? Try it yourself and find out. Do it for me, poor Sanjana who went strawberry picking in the sweltering heat to provide you with a Chilled Sunshine Berry Soup to quench your parched tongues. I love guilt-tripping for all good reasons.

Mouth watering yet?

Also, while technically this isn’t a barbecued dish (why would it be?) it is the perfect starter or light dessert to any Summer BBQ. FYI, I love loopholes like I love guilt-tripping.

Chilled Sunshine Berry Soup
(serves 4-6)

Ingredients

1kg mixed berries (I used 500g strawberries, 250g pitted cherries and 250g blackberries)- reserve a handful of each kind of berry to serve
75g granulated sugar
2 tbsp cornflour
1 litre cold water
50g butter

Method

1. Place the berries in a large pan, reserving a handful of each kind of berry to serve.

2. Add the sugar and cook on a medium heat, stirring constantly. Press the berries with the back of a wooden spoon to crush them slightly. It will take around 15-20 minutes for them to cook thoroughly.

3. Place a sieve over a large pan and strain the berry mixture through it, pressing through as much pulp as possible.

4. Mix the cornflour with the cold water and add it to the strained berry mixture.

5. Place back on the heat and whisk until slightly thickened. Whisk in 50g of butter until melted.

6. Allow to cool to room temperature and refrigerate until chilled and ready to serve.

7. Serve in a deep bowl, adding the reserved berries for some texture and that feeling of virtuousness when you eat fruit and truly enjoy it…

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Blueberries are just coming into season here in the UK so when I spotted a stack of boxes containing the little blue jewels I knew I had to have some. Berries remind me of everything summery and cheesecake is one of my favourite desserts. Eggless baked cheesecake is a rare and delicious treat, which I only make once in a while. I’ve been using Kurma Dasa’s wonderful recipe for years and the finished product is always breathtakingly yummy. As a child I used to read my mum’s copies of Great Vegetarian Dishes, Cooking with Kurma and Quick Vegetarian Dishes like they were storybooks; of course, admiring the stunning pictures was the most captivating and exciting part. As I grew older I was able to cook and sample the vast array of dishes showcased in these most treasured books, and the original version of this eggless baked cheesecake was one of the best I had ever tasted. Since then, I have been experimenting with the countless flavour combinations that there are. Blueberry and white chocolate? Win.

I love how the berries burst in the oven and stain the pristine white of the soft cheese a shade of striking deep purple. Beautiful.

Blueberry and White Chocolate Baked Cheesecake
Adapted from Kurma Dasa’s Great Vegetarian Dishes
(Serves 10-12)

Ingredients

For the base:

1/4 cup butter, melted
2 ½ cups digestive biscuits, crushed

For the filling:

500g ricotta cheese
500g cream cheese, at room temperature
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 tbsp cornflour
1 1/3 cups double cream
1 ½ tsps vanilla extract
½ cup white chocolate, melted
1 cup blueberries, dusted with a little plain flour

Method for the base:

1. Combine the crushed digestive biscuits with the melted butter and mix thoroughly.

2. Firmly press the mixture into a greased 10 inch springform tin.

Method for the filling:

1. Beat together all of the ingredients (excluding the blueberries) until it has thickened. Kurma suggests not to overmix this.

2. Pour ¾ of the mixture on top of the crust and scatter on the blueberries. Pour the rest of the cheese mixture over the blueberries. This method protects the blueberries from burning in the oven and the flour they are dusted in will stop them from sinking to the bottom of the cheesecake during cooking.

3. Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 1 ¼ hours until set (I left mine for 1 hour because my fan oven cooks things a little quicker).

4. Allow to cool and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.

5. Cut into (extra) large wedges and serve to your nearest and dearest yourself.

P.S. I’ve also frozen this cheesecake whole and it still tastes great when defrosted (although the base may lose some of its crunch) but you can always make it ahead of time.

P.P.S. If you like this you’ll love this

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