A chef’s favourite and on the shelves of home and professional kitchens, yoghurt is as versatile an ingredient as it can get. It comes handy in marinades for tikkas, is served as a dip, and takes the form of a variety of raitas. Come summer and its cooling properties make it a hot-seller, and that is when chefs push boundaries to innovate using yoghurt as the base for many a preparation—a hearty soup, an appetizer, a prized main course or a sumptuous dessert.
“Yoghurt is a part of many dishes at Fava. I take particular pride in the Chicken & Yoghurt Soup served with mixed vegetables and herbs. This is a hot soup inspired by Lebanese cuisine. In India, yoghurt is used in many dishes as marinade or even for yakhni gravy,” says Abhijit Saha, Founding Director and Chef at Fava in Bengaluru. “In Fava’s smoothies, we incorporate yoghurt. We have the trio of frozen yoghurt, and a chia seed panacotta, which contains yoghurt. It is also healthy compared to butter or any other form of dairy products as it is easy to digest.”
In Delhi, Lavaash by Saby serves labneh with asparagus. Labneh, cheese made from strained yoghurt, features in many Mediterranean menus as part of the mezze platter. Chef Sabyasachi Gorai, Director and Partner at the restaurant, says, “Yoghurt is not an Indian product. Curdled milk products were a gift of the Armenians to India, be it paneer or dahi. What we did was to innovate on yakhni and invent the gramflour-based kadhi. On the Lavaash menu, we have the labneh and asparagus, where strained yoghurt is shaped into dumplings and coated with sumac and served with asparagus, roasted bell peppers and onions. We also have Pumpkin Manti, traditional Armenian ravioli with a pumpkin filling cooked in a claypot and served in a yoghurt sauce.”
There’s also the much-loved lassi, available in many flavours besides the classic sweet or salted. “At Dhaba by Claridges, we serve a strawberry-flavoured Vilayti Lassi, Anguri Lassi made using grapes, Coconut Lassi, Banno Lassi with Paan, Chukandari Lassi with beetroot, Gulabo Lassi with Gulukand, Green Chili-based Teekhi Lassi and Kulfi-based Mawe di Lassi. Our varied flavoured lassi gives a tastier and healthier alternative to mocktails,” says Head of Operations Vineet Kochar. They also have yoghurt-based dishes such as Kadhi Chicken or Chicken joints cooked in special Punjabi kadi gravy, Chitta Butter Chicken or half baby chicken marinated with hung curd and spices, cooked in tandoor and finished in creamy onion and yoghurt gravy and Dhabe di Aloo Gobhi, a mild spicy home style aloo gobhi cooked with yoghurt and spices.
The hot and humid climes of Chennai also make yoghurt a favourite ingredient to work with. Kiran Rao, Managing Director of Wild Garden, the cafe at Amethyst, says, “We offer a Yoghurt Mousse with fig and honey, a contemporary twist on a classic European flavour combination. It’s our signature dessert. We also serve Baked Yoghurt with fresh fruits, and yoghurt-based smoothies. We in Chennai are used to including yoghurt in our daily diet as the weather is generally hot.”