How is Yogurt made in India?

hfot2

Thanks.
I will now feel safer drinking lassi; I just have to continue to hope that when I say please make it without ice and without water that that's what's done. A friend in Delhi taught me to order it that way - I thought you had to use water and ice to make lassi but he corrected that notion.

Idli

I am yet to come across anybody/any shop in India who uses milk with out first boiling it. I never worry about TB while enjoying my lassi.

__________________
"This pin...gold...thats 2 more people...at least one more person...I could have saved one more person...but i didnt" - Oscar Schindler, Schindlers list

bijapuri

I'd hate to give up my daily curd breakfast when in India, especially in the northern plains, where somehow it's usually thicker than in the south. 20 years ago I had a very severe stomach problem (almost died) and ate nothing but curd and rice for weeks. My immune system and my GI system were severely compromised, so I would likely have caught anyting in the food I ate. Saved my life, dahi did!

__________________
Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a certain poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself. Because it's only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential.
Barack Obama

lookit me!!!: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bijapuri/

Utube fuzzy logic:
http://youtube.com/profile_videos?user=bijapuri&p =r

gs_uppal

Yeah they all boil the milk before making curd/yoghurt as boiling helps increasing the shelf life of milk.
Unboiled milk if kept for making curd/yoghurt by putting some curd culture gets spoilt/breaks before it is fully made, and that gives a bad taste to the curd.
And in North India it is almost always made in earthen vessels, esp in shops/restaurants, as the earthen vessel absorbs any excess water that seeps out of the curd, and that helps the curd to settle well.
But, ...... the expert shop fellas in North have found ways to make the curd thick, like adding blotting paper (paper that absorbs water in huge amount and thickens liquids), adding arrowroot powder etc. to make their curd thicker.

sadhuji

once i was served curd and pickles with hot chapatis and ghee for breakfast in a morning of december.

it was my first visit to delhi and i was putting up with those who were residents of delhi. as i hesitated, fearing i would catch a cold or something, the lady of the house assured me that nothing would happen, and nothing did. it was a really good breakfast.

__________________
mooning over a moon journey

India Edge

Well, so I'm wondering how you make lassi w/o water and/or ice? Substitute milk? OK by me but that doesn't really seem to address hfot2's original concern about the milk... You have to add something besides the sugar (for sweet) or salt/herbs (for salt) or else you still just have curd, hai na?

__________________
India pics
India vids

snowcrab

A little boiled and cooled water in it is quite safe or bottled water if it really needs it. No harm in handing your water bottle to the waiter and saying, please use this, no ice.

Usually just stirring briskly makes it more liquidy, throw in a bit of mashed fruit, salt sugar whatever, quick buzz in blender or whisk.

contrabassista

One little piece of info: If you like your yogurt thick, add very little culture. If you like it thin, add more. It was explained to me that it does best with lots of growing room. Therefore, just a mere teaspoon full.