Mango Shrikhand is one of my favorite summer desserts to make when mangoes are in season. The combination of yogurt, sweet mangoes and the aroma of cardamom and saffron makes this an irresistible dessert!

Mango is my husband’s favorite fruit, I guess if you are from India chances of mango being your favorite fruit is pretty high, like really high! I remember Sarvesh telling me once- that they had this discussion in their office about fruits. Everyone was asked to name their favorite fruits and while people named different fruits, everyone from India said mangoes!

Well I was not surprised at all, mango is probably the only reason why everyone looks forward to the horrible summer back home. Otherwise there is no fun in that 110 F weather!

We do get mangoes in US which taste decent but honestly they are no match to the Indian mangoes (until and unless we get the Indian mangoes of course). Luckily over the weekend, we got some mangoes from Pakistan at our local grocery store! They were so sweet and so delicious, totally reminded me on the mangoes from my nanaji’s farm that I grew up eating! 🙂

Since we got lots of them, we have been eating them for breakfast, lunch and dinner- no kidding! I have also been using them to make mango based desserts and one of my favorites in this Mango Shrikhand, which is also known as Amrakhand. It’s made with yogurt and mangoes just like Mango Lassi.

What is Mango Shrikhand

Shrikhand is a yogurt based dessert popular in western parts of India. To make shrikhand, yogurt is strained by tying it in a muslin cloth and putting pressure over it. The yogurt is then mixed with sugar and spices like saffron and cardamom like in this Kesar Pista Shrikhand. It can be flavored in different ways.

One of it’s most popular variation is Mango Shrikhand where sweet mango puree is added to yogurt. It can be enjoyed as a dessert or with hot puris which is a classic combination.

Traditionally shrikhand was made with homemade yogurt which would not be thick. So to make it thick, it would be strained for 1-2 days. But now with Greek Yogurt, we have a shortcut version available.

Ingredients

You need only few ingredients to make this easy dessert!

Yogurt: so traditionally, homemade yogurt (whole milk) was used to make shrikhand. That would require straining for 24-48 hours to get it to be super thick. But now with Greek yogurt being readily available, it’s definitely an option to make things faster. You need to strain the yogurt for only 3 to 4 hours if using Greek Yogurt. Some people do not even strain their Greek Yogurt and while that’s an option, I recommend straining it for that extra-thick yogurt.

Mango puree: to make really tasty shrikhand, I highly recommend using fresh sweet mangoes. If you can find Indian varieties like Kesar, Alphonso then your shrikhand will be extra delicious, I can promise that much. You can make shrikhand with canned mango puree but honestly I wait for summers to make it with fresh sweet mangoes. The taste is just so much better.

Sugar: I like using powdered sugar to sweeten the shrikhand but you can use regular granulated sugar as well. Adjust the amount of sugar to taste. No sugar is definitely an option as well if you want to keep it naturally sweet with just mangoes.

Flavorings: cardamom, saffron are commonly used. But you can choose to skip one or both. I often add both because I just love these spices. Some people also add nuts to their shrikhand, I often keep this amrakhand plain.

Step by Step Instructions

1- Place a strainer over a large bowl. Then place a muslin cloth on top of the strainer. Transfer the Greek yogurt to the strainer.

2 & 3- Bring the edges of the muslin cloth together and tie into a knot.

4- Place some heavy object on top, I placed a mortar. Leave for 3 to 4 hours for the yogurt to strain. You can keep this bowl inside the fridge if it’s very hot where you live, I just leave at room temperature. If using regular yogurt, you would follow the same steps but leave the bowl inside the refrigerator overnight.

5- After 4 hours, the yogurt will be super thick and completely strained.

6- Transfer the yogurt to another bowl and using a whisk or hand blender/stand mixer, whisk until the yogurt is smooth and creamy.

7- To that, now add mango puree (which I made from 2 large sweet mangoes by just blending their pulp in a blender), powdered sugar and cardamom powder.

8- Mix until everything is well combined. You can also add few saffron strands (dissolved in 1-2 teaspoons warm milk) at this point. Chill the shrikhand for 1 to 2 hours before serving. You can also garnish it with some nuts and saffron strands before serving.

Serving Suggestions

Shrikhand can be served as a stand alone dessert. Just add the shrikhand to small jars, top with nuts and serve. You can also make something like these Gulab Jamun Shrikhand Jars with mango shrikhand as well.

One of the popular ways to enjoy Mango Shrikhand especially in western parts of India is with puris! The combination is definitely delicious.

Tips & Notes

• Use fresh sweet mango pulp for best taste. You can use canned mango pulp but it won’t taste the same.
• You can make this shrikhand using regular yogurt too, tie the yogurt in a muslin cloth. Take a large bowl, place strainer over it and then place the tied muslin cloth over that strainer. Let it strain overnight in the fridge.
• Do not use 0% Greek Yogurt for this recipe, whole Greek Yogurt works best.
• Adjust sugar to taste, you might not want to less sugar if the mangoes are sweet enough.
• Shrikhand tastes best when chilled so I recommend to chill 1 to 2 hours before serving.

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This post has been updated from the recipe archives, first published in June 2014.