HomeMade Yogurt-Dahi

In India most meals are incomplete without having Yogurt or Dahi in the end.On the Contrary Western countries use yogurt in breakfast sweetened with fruit or with smoothies or in dessert.There is a slight difference in the Western Yogurt and Indian Yogurt in that the amount of time the yogurt is allowed to set is short (4-6 hours) in the western yogurt where as in India it is let to set overnight.This longer process ensures there are more probiotic bacteria in the yogurt which is good for your intestinal walls.

Preparation time:15 minutes+additional time to set.

Serves:about 4 cups

Ingredients:

4 cups milk

1 teaspoon yogurt starter(room temperature)

1 slit green chili(optional)

Procedure:

1.In a saucepan take the milk and warm it until it reaches 120F.

2.In a steel or earthen container add yogurt starter and the green chili.

3.Add the milk to the container and keep it inside the oven and let it set overnight or for about 12 hours.

Tips:

If the temperature is too cold outside warm the oven a little bit and then keep it inside.No high temperatures or it will kill the probiotic bacteria, 120F is the highest.

The green chili helps the yogurt set very thick, you can omit it if you don't like. It wont change the flavor of your yogurt.

If you do not have a yogurt starter you can request it in this group or find an Indian in your area most will have it on hand or if you can find raw milk(that is not pasteurized) heat it to 120F and keep it in the oven along with a green and red chili and a tad bit sugar.It will take around 2-3 days but it will set on its own,the reason being unpasteurized milk has all the probiotic bacteria that the yogurt contains in a smaller amount so the delay in setting.