2 liters or half gallon Fresh milk
3-4 teaspoons of full cream milk powder (heaped)
2 tablespoons of culture medium (yoghurt or curd from a previous batch)

Bring the milk to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. This step is necessary for some chemical reactions to occur.
While the milk is hot, dissolve the milk powder in small portion of hot milk and add to the milk. Let the milk cool down in a closed container.
When the milk has cooled down to about body-temperature, add the culture medium and mix well. Do not add the culture medium to hot milk as it will kill the curd forming bacteria instantly.
Leave in a warm place (ideal is 100 - 110 F or 37 - 42 C) for 10 hours. The curd will have set by now. Refrigerate.
Culture medium can be store bought yogurt with active cultures (usually they are) or curd from a previous batch. I usually use freshly purchased yogurt every time. Allow the yogurt to warm to room temperature before adding to the milk.

Microwave Directions: Boil the milk in the microwave oven rather than on the stove top. Use a microwavable bowl for this purpose. Once the milk has come to a boil, continue heating at half the power for another 10 minutes. Add the milk powder during this period. Boiling in the microwave is easier than heating on the stove top as you do not have to spend another 15 minutes scrubbing the burnt bottom of the pan. In addition, what is burnt and sticking to the bottom are the proteins that are good for you.

Variations: If you are health conscious, try using low fat milk and/or skip the milk powder. However, the curd may not be as thick. Buffalo milk has nearly twice fat content as cow milk. As a result curd made with buffalo milk is creamier and thicker than the curd from cow milk. Adding the powdered milk makes the curd comparably thicker. Sheep milk is comparable to that of water buffalo milk in composition. If you have access to sheep milk, try it.

This curd can be used to replace coconut milk in curries.

Print this recipe         Email this recipe

© Malini's Kitchen :: Sri Lanka Recipes