Sunday, May 30, 2010

Hung Yoghurt

I have been cooking several Indian recipes of late, and many of them call for hung yoghurt, which is apparently also called labneh.

Hung yoghurt is created by taking regular whole-milk yoghurt and removing the whey by "hanging" the yoghurt over a cheesecloth or coffee filter for several hours.  The whey will drip through, leaving a thicker yoghurt with a more consistent texture for cooking.

The website Nourished Kitchen also encourages us cooks not to throw out the whey, but to use it to soak grains for bread baking, as a starter for fermented foods, and in smoothie drinks for added protein.  The whey can be refrigerated for several months.

I first came across recipes requiring hung yoghurt in the book The Food of India, by the chefs of The Oberoi Group.  The two recipes I was most interested in was for chicken tikka and chicken tandoori.

2 comments:

  1. You are welcomed (my other way to say please!!) to scribbled down the recipes for those who want to experience the food adventure..
    Labneh..I have heard about it.. yoghurt I love it.. hung Yoghurt.. now where can I get the taste of it?.

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  2. You can make hung yoghurt yourself. Buy plain yoghurt at the store, and then drain the whey off using a coffee filter. Give it 4-12 hours and you will have hung yoghurt.

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