This sweet cream, which tastes a bit like crème fraîche, only with a more flowing, creamy texture, is a simple Gujarati dessert, so cooling during Gujarat’s hot summer days. In May and June, when mangoes are in season, thick mango puree is folded in. A teaspoon of saffron threads, roasted and soaked in milk, may be added at the same time as the sugar (see method on page 289) or dried fruit (golden raisins, soaked in boiling water for an hour and squeezed), nuts (chopped pistachios or almonds), fresh fruit (chopped mangoes, bananas, berries), and fruit purees.

Ingredients

　　8 cups plain whole-milk yogurt

　　Sugar, 1 cup or more, according to taste

　　Balance a large sieve over a bowl. Cut a doubled-up piece of cheesecloth so it is large enough to be tied into a bundle. Center it in the sieve. Empty the yogurt into the cheesecloth. Bring opposite ends together and tie into as tight a bundle as possible. Put a 2-pound weight on the top. (Sometimes you need to wait until the yogurt has released a little liquid. I usually put a saucer on top of the bundle and then the weight—often a can—on the plate.) Leave for 2 hours. Put the strained yogurt (you should now have about 3 cups) into a bowl. Add 1 cup sugar. Mix well and taste. Add more sugar if you need it. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

　　Excerpted from At Home with Madhur Jaffrey: Simple, Delectable Dishes from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka by Madhur Jaffrey. Copyright © 2010 by Random House. Excerpted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.Buy the full book from Amazon.