No matter which part of the country you belong to, I bet curd is an integral part of your eating routine. And why not, one might ask, as curd is such a versatile ingredient and full of health benefits.
Setting curd is almost a tradition in our Indian households. I remember being in awe of the process of mixing the starter spoonful of curd with large quantities of milk. At that point of time it seemed to me that my mother had an uncanny ability to catch all the frothy milk into a vessel without spilling a drop. When I got married and I set my first batch of curd I was mighty proud of having replicated my mother’s actions immaculately.
Another term in conjunction with curd that you might be familiar with is yogurt. Actually almost everywhere else in the world yogurt is the name given to the simple fermented dairy product that we call curd in India. Like we noted in an earlier article, fermentation — which is the process of culturing good bacteria — is responsible for changing milk into the thickened acidic food known as curd. Did you know that thanks to these million bacteria curd lasts longer than milk without getting spoiled? Also these bacteria are absolutely welcomed by the human gut.
Let us see the various avatars of curd the world over before we proceed further in our investigation about curd. Brazilian curd is known as queijo de coalho. It literally translates into curd cheese or coalho cheese. This originated in the backlands where people carried milk in bags made from the stomach of young cows where the milk curdled. This semi-hard yellowish white cheese curd with elastic texture is a favourite with everyone.
Paskha is a Russian Easter dish made of curd after separating the whey from it. Paskha is usually moulded in the shape of a truncated pyramid considered to be the symbol of the Church. It is white and denotes purity.
In Iceland the cultured dairy product known as skyr is served cold with a topping of sugar and cream. In Hungary you will find turo rudi which is a chocolate bar with a filling of curd. This bar, some presume, was first created in Russia where fat, curd and butter were mixed together and then covered with a coating of dark chocolate.
In South India curd rice needs no introduction. It is a simple dish that is relished in almost every household and thanks to the Internet, the dish is a much loved favourite among many of us living in the northern as
well as the eastern parts of the country.
Yogurt or the Indian curd has been a favourite dish in the Middle East where it has been consumed for over thousands of years. The term yogurt is derived from the Turkish language meaning to curdle.
It is surprising to note that even those people who are lactose intolerant, that is, they cannot drink milk, can easily digest curd. Curd is also reported to have better nutritive value than milk. Besides the healthy bacteria, the bacteria that work on milk to change it into curd also introduce different levels of acidity. It helps in digestion and maintaining a healthy gut. It is easier for the human body to assimilate and use the calcium and phosphorous content of curd. A bowl of curd contains more vitamins than a glass of regular milk.
Curd can be used as a side dish, a sweet dish, a condiment, an important ingredient or even as a beverage in various forms. Shreekhand, bhapa doi, mishti doi, dahi ke kabab, raita, curd and cheese sandwich, flavoured yogurts, lassi are just a few options that we all are familiar with.