Friday, September 20, 2013

Yogurt and Heat - dont you worry !

Many a times,  going through recipes that uses yogurt in cooking, I have always wondered..."but, does not it curdle ? Can yogurt be used in dishes while cooking on high heat ?...many doubts in these lines lingered, until I happened to read about it.

Just sharing few points that I came across, which eventually, did clarify my doubts in this regard.



* How to prevent yogurt from curdling when making curries?
 
Yogurt is a major ingredient in making Indian Curries. The cow-milk yogurt will separate when heated beyond a given point, unless it is stabilized.
 
In the olden days, yogurt for cooking was made from freshly drawn buffalo whole-milk. It did not curdle with heat. Technically, foods high in proteins and acids (yogurt has lactic acid), become unstable with high heat. Higher the butter fat, proportionately lower is the amount of protein, that is the case with buffalo-milk yogurt.
 
You may choose to add Cow-milk yogurt at the end of cooking to minimize effects of high heat. The only problem is that spice flavors will not fully permeate the yogurt.

* Steps to prevent yogurt from curdling during cooking

Following steps will prevent yogurt from curdling
 
1. Use whole-milk (high fat) yogurt.
 
2. Stabilize yogurt by whisking-in starch before cooking. Add one teaspoon of cornstarch, or 1½ teaspoon of other flours (Atta, Maida, or Besan) to one cup of yogurt.
 
3. Minimize thermal shock to yogurt when adding to curry being cooked. First shut off the heat. Start with yogurt at room temperature and not directly from the refrigerator. At this point, you may add starch to stabilize yogurt. Temper yogurt just like eggs are tempered in making custard. Raise yogurt temperature gradually by mixing hot curry sauce little bit at a time to the yogurt. After the yogurt temperature has risen sufficiently, add it to the curry. Turn on heat to finish making curry.
 
4. When the yogurt is made, it is not stirred during incubation, so the structure of yogurt is set in a matrix. After adding yogurt for cooking, stirring vigorously will break down the matrix and cause separation. Gently fold-in yogurt by stirring in one direction (either clockwise or anticlockwise), till the yogurt is well blended.
 
5. Sometimes, it is possible to fix the yogurt after it has separated. Shut-off heat. Make a paste by mixing one teaspoon of cornstarch (or two teaspoons of all-purpose flour) with ½ Tablespoon of cold water. Stir paste into the separated mixture. Gently heat curry to let it thicken and recombine the yogurt. Repeat if necessary.

 
 lol  :P

* Recipe for Stabilized Yogurt

Cow’s milk yogurt will separate when heated beyond a certain point.
 
Use of stabilized yogurt will minimize separation.
 
1. Whole-milk plain yogurt: 1 Quart
2. Large egg white, lightly beaten: 1
3. Cornstarch: 1 Tablespoon
4. Salt: 1 teaspoon
 
Mix all ingredients together in a heavy saucepan. Whisk. Cook over moderate heat, stirring, in one direction until mixture starts to bubble and comes to a boil (approximately 8 minutes). Reduce heat to moderately low, and simmer until thickened, it will take approximately additional 4 minutes.
 
Stabilized yogurt can be stored in the refrigerator for 2 weeks
 
...or.....
 
You can also stabilize cow-milk yogurt by stirring-in a starch to the yogurt before cooking. For starch, you can use any flour: Besan (Chickpea flour), Atta (whole-grain wheat flour), Maida (All-purpose flour) or Cornstarch. Cornstarch is flavor neutral.
 
"now...this, was the kinda tip that I was always on the look out for !!!".
 
 
.......will be right back, with a yogurt sauce based recipe..now..that I no longer need to worry about yogurt getting curled due to heat.
 
Until then..keep smiling...have a great day ahead !!!

45 comments:

  1. U never fail to surprise me Sona donoo where u pull it out from but u sure make me laugh :)
    Thanks for all the info on curd.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ditto Meena's comment - I'm not typing again... :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ditto reply as well.... :) oru punchiriyil, othukikottae Rafeedhu ???

      Delete
  3. Hi Sona, just drop by to say hello. Tomorrow only I read your posting, it's 2.07am in Malaysia.

    See you, have a nice day.

    ReplyDelete
  4. seriously you should try your hand in serious writing , you are an amazing writer. nice info about yogurt.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. oops...thanks very much Linsy, but honestly, nothing of that sort..just no frills..no glam...my writing is in "as is" state...straight form the mouth. mostly goes as kindof a chat...

      Delete
  5. Very useful info.. Nice write up..

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wonderful and very nice post, very useful and written fantastically....

    ReplyDelete
  7. Nice n informative post Sona.
    Yogurt spend one semester in Greece, ha ha ha. cant stop laughing :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. This is my fav post of yours... I am going to tell this to my mym, i loved it... Very useful
    Keep in touch,
    www.beingbeautifulandpretty.com
    http://instagram.com/beingbeautifulpooja

    ReplyDelete
  9. Very nice post, love the greek yogrut, spent summer in Greece I like that.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. :) think the greek yogurt has got too many fans out here now..its shud very well go back to Greece I believe !!

      Delete
  10. Great Write up sona, very informative post for me!! thank u :D

    ReplyDelete
  11. very informative post..!!!

    ReplyDelete
  12. :D :D .U r awesome Sona....u hav done a detailed study....informative and wonderful write up :):)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. :) thank you deary. This was something that always concerned me, n when I found the answer, thought it has to be shared.

      Delete
  13. Sona ur doing a great job and the post is very informative

    ReplyDelete
  14. This post was truly informative. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  15. that's a lot of info on yogurt. loved it.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hi Sona,thanks so much for sharing the tips. It's indeed very useful. Have a great weekend :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Very interesting. Like that you can add cornstarch..very informative.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Very useful tips dear..

    ReplyDelete
  19. That's a lot of information..Thanks for sharing sona..

    ReplyDelete
  20. Lovely post, and great info about curd.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Hi Sona, thanks for the useful information. I do enjoy yogurt with fruits for breakfast. I'd a yogurt maker at home, used to made but lately quiet lazy and use the store brought yogurt instead. Good for people with skin problem, it does help.

    Have a nice day ahead,regards.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Hi Sona,

    Yucks! I hate to see curdling yogurt in our cooking... very frustrating! Nice to know cornstarch help to prevent yogurt from splitting! :D

    Zoe

    ReplyDelete
  23. thanks all for the likes..glad that the post was helpful...

    ReplyDelete
  24. THIS POST IS YOGURTY GOOD...WE GENERALLY OPT FOR ADDING A PINCH OF CHICKPEA FLOUR WHILE WHISKING THE YOGURT AND IT WORKS GREAT :-)

    ReplyDelete
  25. Loved reading the post, I do temper yogurt just like making custard, but still it cuddles sometimes.Adding starch and folding gently is something I need to try next time,it does make sense.. Thanks yaar for sharing these great tips.

    ReplyDelete
  26. How coinciding for me to post a yogurt based dish (Apple pachadi actually) on my blog yest and here I hop over to read all abt yogurt in hot dishes ;-) Actually for me the dish that used to always fail me was pulisherry...i could never get it done without it getting curdled, thankfully now I know how to manage it to say the least! Informative and funny post as always!

    ReplyDelete
  27. very informative post, I think that is why in kadi we use buttermilk not yogurt and same for baking a lot of cakes

    ReplyDelete
  28. Thanks for sharing such a fabulous tip dear! Hope you'll give my Bread Crumb Biscuit a try soon...

    ReplyDelete

Friday, September 20, 2013

Yogurt and Heat - dont you worry !

Many a times,  going through recipes that uses yogurt in cooking, I have always wondered..."but, does not it curdle ? Can yogurt be used in dishes while cooking on high heat ?...many doubts in these lines lingered, until I happened to read about it.

Just sharing few points that I came across, which eventually, did clarify my doubts in this regard.



* How to prevent yogurt from curdling when making curries?
 
Yogurt is a major ingredient in making Indian Curries. The cow-milk yogurt will separate when heated beyond a given point, unless it is stabilized.
 
In the olden days, yogurt for cooking was made from freshly drawn buffalo whole-milk. It did not curdle with heat. Technically, foods high in proteins and acids (yogurt has lactic acid), become unstable with high heat. Higher the butter fat, proportionately lower is the amount of protein, that is the case with buffalo-milk yogurt.
 
You may choose to add Cow-milk yogurt at the end of cooking to minimize effects of high heat. The only problem is that spice flavors will not fully permeate the yogurt.

* Steps to prevent yogurt from curdling during cooking

Following steps will prevent yogurt from curdling
 
1. Use whole-milk (high fat) yogurt.
 
2. Stabilize yogurt by whisking-in starch before cooking. Add one teaspoon of cornstarch, or 1½ teaspoon of other flours (Atta, Maida, or Besan) to one cup of yogurt.
 
3. Minimize thermal shock to yogurt when adding to curry being cooked. First shut off the heat. Start with yogurt at room temperature and not directly from the refrigerator. At this point, you may add starch to stabilize yogurt. Temper yogurt just like eggs are tempered in making custard. Raise yogurt temperature gradually by mixing hot curry sauce little bit at a time to the yogurt. After the yogurt temperature has risen sufficiently, add it to the curry. Turn on heat to finish making curry.
 
4. When the yogurt is made, it is not stirred during incubation, so the structure of yogurt is set in a matrix. After adding yogurt for cooking, stirring vigorously will break down the matrix and cause separation. Gently fold-in yogurt by stirring in one direction (either clockwise or anticlockwise), till the yogurt is well blended.
 
5. Sometimes, it is possible to fix the yogurt after it has separated. Shut-off heat. Make a paste by mixing one teaspoon of cornstarch (or two teaspoons of all-purpose flour) with ½ Tablespoon of cold water. Stir paste into the separated mixture. Gently heat curry to let it thicken and recombine the yogurt. Repeat if necessary.

 
 lol  :P

* Recipe for Stabilized Yogurt

Cow’s milk yogurt will separate when heated beyond a certain point.
 
Use of stabilized yogurt will minimize separation.
 
1. Whole-milk plain yogurt: 1 Quart
2. Large egg white, lightly beaten: 1
3. Cornstarch: 1 Tablespoon
4. Salt: 1 teaspoon
 
Mix all ingredients together in a heavy saucepan. Whisk. Cook over moderate heat, stirring, in one direction until mixture starts to bubble and comes to a boil (approximately 8 minutes). Reduce heat to moderately low, and simmer until thickened, it will take approximately additional 4 minutes.
 
Stabilized yogurt can be stored in the refrigerator for 2 weeks
 
...or.....
 
You can also stabilize cow-milk yogurt by stirring-in a starch to the yogurt before cooking. For starch, you can use any flour: Besan (Chickpea flour), Atta (whole-grain wheat flour), Maida (All-purpose flour) or Cornstarch. Cornstarch is flavor neutral.
 
"now...this, was the kinda tip that I was always on the look out for !!!".
 
 
.......will be right back, with a yogurt sauce based recipe..now..that I no longer need to worry about yogurt getting curled due to heat.
 
Until then..keep smiling...have a great day ahead !!!

45 comments:

  1. U never fail to surprise me Sona donoo where u pull it out from but u sure make me laugh :)
    Thanks for all the info on curd.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ditto Meena's comment - I'm not typing again... :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ditto reply as well.... :) oru punchiriyil, othukikottae Rafeedhu ???

      Delete
  3. Hi Sona, just drop by to say hello. Tomorrow only I read your posting, it's 2.07am in Malaysia.

    See you, have a nice day.

    ReplyDelete
  4. seriously you should try your hand in serious writing , you are an amazing writer. nice info about yogurt.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. oops...thanks very much Linsy, but honestly, nothing of that sort..just no frills..no glam...my writing is in "as is" state...straight form the mouth. mostly goes as kindof a chat...

      Delete
  5. Very useful info.. Nice write up..

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wonderful and very nice post, very useful and written fantastically....

    ReplyDelete
  7. Nice n informative post Sona.
    Yogurt spend one semester in Greece, ha ha ha. cant stop laughing :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. This is my fav post of yours... I am going to tell this to my mym, i loved it... Very useful
    Keep in touch,
    www.beingbeautifulandpretty.com
    http://instagram.com/beingbeautifulpooja

    ReplyDelete
  9. Very nice post, love the greek yogrut, spent summer in Greece I like that.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. :) think the greek yogurt has got too many fans out here now..its shud very well go back to Greece I believe !!

      Delete
  10. Great Write up sona, very informative post for me!! thank u :D

    ReplyDelete
  11. very informative post..!!!

    ReplyDelete
  12. :D :D .U r awesome Sona....u hav done a detailed study....informative and wonderful write up :):)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. :) thank you deary. This was something that always concerned me, n when I found the answer, thought it has to be shared.

      Delete
  13. Sona ur doing a great job and the post is very informative

    ReplyDelete
  14. This post was truly informative. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  15. that's a lot of info on yogurt. loved it.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hi Sona,thanks so much for sharing the tips. It's indeed very useful. Have a great weekend :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Very interesting. Like that you can add cornstarch..very informative.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Very useful tips dear..

    ReplyDelete
  19. That's a lot of information..Thanks for sharing sona..

    ReplyDelete
  20. Lovely post, and great info about curd.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Hi Sona, thanks for the useful information. I do enjoy yogurt with fruits for breakfast. I'd a yogurt maker at home, used to made but lately quiet lazy and use the store brought yogurt instead. Good for people with skin problem, it does help.

    Have a nice day ahead,regards.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Hi Sona,

    Yucks! I hate to see curdling yogurt in our cooking... very frustrating! Nice to know cornstarch help to prevent yogurt from splitting! :D

    Zoe

    ReplyDelete
  23. thanks all for the likes..glad that the post was helpful...

    ReplyDelete
  24. THIS POST IS YOGURTY GOOD...WE GENERALLY OPT FOR ADDING A PINCH OF CHICKPEA FLOUR WHILE WHISKING THE YOGURT AND IT WORKS GREAT :-)

    ReplyDelete
  25. Loved reading the post, I do temper yogurt just like making custard, but still it cuddles sometimes.Adding starch and folding gently is something I need to try next time,it does make sense.. Thanks yaar for sharing these great tips.

    ReplyDelete
  26. How coinciding for me to post a yogurt based dish (Apple pachadi actually) on my blog yest and here I hop over to read all abt yogurt in hot dishes ;-) Actually for me the dish that used to always fail me was pulisherry...i could never get it done without it getting curdled, thankfully now I know how to manage it to say the least! Informative and funny post as always!

    ReplyDelete
  27. very informative post, I think that is why in kadi we use buttermilk not yogurt and same for baking a lot of cakes

    ReplyDelete
  28. Thanks for sharing such a fabulous tip dear! Hope you'll give my Bread Crumb Biscuit a try soon...

    ReplyDelete