Thandai Shrikhand Tart Recipe | Food Diaries | Chef Zarnak Sidhwa

Method:
For Shrikhand pour the yogurt into a muslin cloth. Hang it for a few hours till water drains out. If you keep it overnight, do so in the fridge. Remove the fully strained whey free yogurt from the fridge and discard the whey. Add the saffron into the yogurt along with the sugar and briskly mix, add the cardamom powder and stir in the nuts and refrigerate well for 5-6 hours before serving.

For tart coarsely grind the almonds, pistachios and cashews. Mix with the rest of the ingredients including chilled butter and knead well till you get a coarse crumb like mixture. Add a little cold water at a time and knead to make a firm dough. Take care to add a tablespoon of cold water at a time. Once the thandai tart dough is ready, cover it with cling film and keep it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Take out the dough from the fridge. Dust the surface with flour and roll the tart dough to make a circle large enough to fit a 7 inch tart pan. Now carefully invert the rolled dough over the tart mould. Press the dough on to the sides and bottom of the tart pan. Prick the tart dough with a fork all over, put a greaseproof paper on it and weigh it down with ceramic beans or rice or beans, bake for about 20 minutes or until the tart is golden.
Once tart is baked, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool completely. Keep the Thandai tart in its pan. Once the Thandai tart is cooled, pour the shrikhand mixture over the tart and tap the pan gently on the counter to release any air bubbles. Top the Thandai tart with your choice of fresh fruit or berries before serving. Sprinkle nutmeg powder and pistachios on it.

Method:
For Biryani heat oil and add onions. Cook till brown in color. In a grinder, add bay leaves, green cardamoms, black cardamoms, cloves, nutmeg, black peppercorns and mace, grind into a fine powder. Set aside. Add saffron strands to warm milk and keep aside. In a pan, add oil and ginger garlic paste, add mutton and sauté well and then add little water and cook till done. In another pan, add 5-6 cups water, bay leaf, black peppercorns, cloves and salt. Once the water starts to boil, add rice and cook till ¾ cooked. Drain the water and spread the rice in a big plate. To assemble, layer half the rice, then mutton, then mint leaves, then brown onions, more mutton and rice. On top, add screw pine water and saffron milk. Cover it with a heavy lid and simmer on low for 10-15 minutes. Garnish it with mint leaves, coriander leaves and brown onions. Serve hot with raita.
For Raita in a bowl, whisk the yogurt to semi thin consistency. Add Cucumber, onion, salt and cumin powder, mix well. Garnish with mint leaves Store in refrigerator till further use.