Mango shrikhand is a marriage of royalty: the King of Fruit with the Queen of Spice. Alphonso, meet Cardamom. You will have mighty tasty babies. 🙂
Mango shrikhand is an Indian dessert, popular in Gurjarat (incidentally where mangoes are grown). Cool, strained yogurt is mixed with cardamom, saffron, sugar and (in this version) pistachios as well. It is topped with the sinfully juicy mango slices with a sprinkle of chopped pistachios. The Alphonso mangoes, utterly sweet, really shine in this dish.
This recipe is adapted from Closet Cooking, and is really, really good. I know it is important to have the proper consistency of yogurt, which is why people recommend to drain it in a cheesecloth overnight, but I used Greek-style yogurt instead. It was thinned with the additional ingredients. Definitely taste as you go, adjusting the sweetness based on your ingredients.
Alphonso mangoes are arguably the sweetest mango you can find. They are imported from India, and only recently, in 2007, did the United States lift their 18-year import ban. The recent volcanic eruption in Iceland caused a glut of Alphonso mangoes at the Gerrard India Bazaar in Toronto but I found some at the Cash and Carry over the weekend. They are definitely worth the extra price as they are just bursting with juice. Every time I cut one, I did it over my dish to catch all the runaway juices, and then proceed to lick my fingers clean as to not miss any of the sweet mango goodness.
This is my submission to this month’s Cooking with Seeds featuring Cardamom.
Mango Shrikhand
1 cup Greek yogurt or strained plain yogurt
1/4 cup mango pulp (optional)
2 tablespoons sugar (preferably icing sugar)
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 pinch saffron (soaked in 1 tablespoon warm milk)
2 tablespoon pistachios, toasted and chopped
1 mango, peeled, stoned and sliced into bit sized pieces
1. Mix together the yogurt, mango pulp (if using), sugar, cardamom, saffron and all but 1 tsp of the pistachios. Top with the mangoes and sprinkle with pistachios.
Serves 1.
the taste space 
Your mango shrikhand looks great! Nice photos! Can’t get enough of those alphonso mangoes! 🙂
Instead of powdered sugar, I suggest using Agave syrup as it has a lower glycemic index and is healthier. Otherwise, I loved this recipe!!
That is a great suggestion, Grace. I’ll try that next time! 🙂
Hey Janet!
Absolutely mouthwatering dish! Thanks a lot for your participation. Your post is listed on my blog. Please have a look.
Thanks,
Sanchita.
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I wish I had a bowl of this right now. Beautiful!
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