Yogurt making is not rocket-science but it is science and very simple science. Yogurt /Curd or Greek Yogurt can be made at home very easily and at a fraction of the cost and to your taste. Follow the steps, make it at home and you’ll figure out how simple it is.
Ingredients:
Milk – 8 cups
Starter – 2 heaping tbsp
Method:
1. Boil Milk on a medium high flame, stirring occasionally to avoid burning.
2. Once the Milk comes to a boil, reduce flame to a simmer and cook for another 5-6 minutes.
3. Turn off the stove and let the Milk cool down to lukewarm.
4. Once it’s lukewarm, add in the starter and mix well.
5. Transfer into container(s) to set the yogurt.
6. Keep in a warm place and allow the yogurt to set.
7. Setting time may vary depending on the size and material of container, climate and how warm you keep it.
8. We kept it in the oven, with the oven lights on but the but switched off, for 8 hours.
9. Transfer the Yogurt to the fridge and allow it to firm up for atleast a couple of hours and then it’s ready to serve.
For Greek Yogurt:
1. Take a Paneer Cloth, wet it and squeeze the water.
2. Spread it over a jug (if you want to save the whey) and pour the Yogurt into it.
3. Make a bundle and tie the opposite ends and hang from a ladle.
4. Allow the Whey to drip out until the yogurt is reduced to half. It will take upto 2 hours.
5. Open the parcel and transfer the Yogurt to a container and store till needed.
I tried this recipe but of course I didn’t have a starter so I used a general American grocery store yogurt and my final product game out gummy..Any idea what I might be doing wrong?
You can add milk powder to thicken the yogurt if you use fat free milk. You do not need much; using a lot of the powder gives the yogurt a milky smell- so use a little ( 1-2 tsp for 6 cups of milk.
Wonderful idea to make yoghurt at home freshly and can save money! Thanks for sharing this.
Hey Hetal Anuja.. I have one question for you.As you said you use Canola oil for ur daily cooking.but if you google side effects of canola oil u will find a loooooong list. so can we use peanut oil instead of canola oil? peanut oil has some nutty flower as well so can we use for our daily cooking? and does it have any side effects? coz I didn’t find much abt it.so plz help me out from this.
thank you.
Hi Mike,
It seems everyone has an opinion on the internet about every kind of oil out there. We use canola oil because it basically has the same properties of olive oil without the strong flavor. Also, it has a higher smoking point than olive oil so that we are able to use it under higher heat conditions. We cannot claim to be experts in the subject but this is what we have heard.
You can use the whey in place of water to make chapati dough or any other dough. Other uses: 1)for making gujarati kadhi 2)for making sweet or salty lassi.
Great ideas! Thanks for sharing them.
Hi Hetal and Anuja,
I love this video! I’m wondering what I can do with the whey? You said you save it, is it used in a recipe or just to drink it? Please let us know a few options for use.
Thanks!
Hi Amanda,
As one of our other viewers mentioned:
“You can use the whey in place of water to make chapati dough or any other dough. Other uses: 1)for making gujarati kadhi 2)for making sweet or salty lassi.” You can just drink it also. It has a lot of nutritional properties.
desi dahi from the Indian store tastes the best.. i have tried making yogurt so many many times and its always too thin..its too cold in new york in winter time so it never sets right even with the oven light on.. first you have to boil on medium heat then wait for it to cool down to the correct temp..by that time its either too cold or still hot..too time consuming.. when my baby was infant i tried with whole milk but never did the end result come out as good as desi dahi.. now i just buy from the store.. some things are just better store bought 🙂
I tried it with the desi dahi from the Indian store(since I had it handy) and it came out awesome.I wont be buying Oikos anymore!!! Thanks for sharing Ladies…
That’s great Annachar! Glad it worked for you.
To make Greek yogurt, if you want to avoid the hassle of cleaning the muslin cloth after use, employ coffee filters to do the job. They work just as well. I use the plastic non-disposable kind which have a fine mesh.
I have often used my toaster oven set at a temp between 100-110 degrees and my yogurt (about 4 cups of milk) gets ready in 3-4 hours. When I use my Kitchenaid double oven, I use the bread proofing cycle to keep my oven at a temp of 100 degrees. It does take longer than my toaster oven for unknown reasons.
Thanks for all of the tips! We’re sure it will help other viewers.
Hello,
I have an issue with the starter. I have heard that yogurts(store brought) are different than our normal DAHI and do not multiply. I am new to America. Can you suggest me a brand or type which I can use as a starter.
Thank you for the tip.
Trader Joe’s plain organic lowfat yogurt 32 oz has worked fine for me.
Hi Nupur,
As long as the package says that it has live active cultures, any brand will work. We try to buy brands that do have gelatin in the ingredients so that the end product is pure.
What a great idea, Gauri! Thanks!
Great recipe!
For all those who do not like to eat the whey they can separate it in a different bowl and apply it on hair 5 min before washing it off. It is an excellent conditioner and also keeps dandruff at bay!
Thanks for this tip! I’ve been making my own greek yogurt for a few months, and not sure what to do with all of the whey. This is a great tip!
I always go wrong with making yogurt and have never been successful. Can you please tell me a temperature when I need to stop boiling the milk and also temperature when I can add the starter yogurt
I have been using a milk thermometer for the last decade to make yogurt at home.
After the milk comes to a boil, I let it simmer at 185 F (85 C) for about 15 minutes. I then let it cool to 110 F (44 C) and then add the culture. (If you don’t have starter yogurt, an 8 oz. plain full-fat tub from your local grocery store will do the trick.)
~SC
Namaste SeasonedCook,
I was wondering the very same thing as I watched the video. Now I know and am more anxious than ever to try my hand a yogurt making for the very first time. Thank you for this valuable information. Rich
HI SC,
Thanks for mentioning the actual temperatures…we’re sure it will be helpful to our viewers.
i just bought a new yogurt maker that cost $100. I am going to try your recipe this weekend and return the machine I bought.
thank you both so much for this great information.
Ladies, I seem to be having a more fundamental problem – not having the yogurt culture to begin with! Other than borrowing from friends, or occasionally trying with store yogurt and ending up with a slimy mess, I have not had success in finding a good starter. I have tried TraderJoe’s and other healthfood stores, but no one has it. Where can I find the culture and what section of the store is it kept in? Thanks for your tip!
You can order it on amazon.
Hey MC,
You can buy tub of full fat yogurt from grocery store and use as starter. I would suggest that you can leave out the amount of starter yogurt(2-3 hipping tbsp depend on amount of milk) for room temperature by the time milk is cooling off. i hope it helps.
Hi Hetal,Anuja
nice ideas to make home made yogurt…
Where can i buy those containers?
Pyrex glass containers with lid work very well for yogurt. They keep the heat intact inside for a longer time too.
Namaste Swetha,
If you go to any grocery store that has a deli counter, simply buy a quart or two of anything in the case that strikes your fancy and there you have your containers. The great thing about the deli is the containers come in various sizes. A smaller container would be perfect for the finished Greek yogurt the ladies just showed us how to make. Rich
We can also make greek yogurt in about 30mins by putting the yogurt potli on newspapers or that orange seeping cloth.
Thank you, I’ve wanted to know why my yoghurt became so slimy!
I put a thick kitchen towel in a collander to drain yoghurt.
Thank you again
The slimmy yougart is because of a type of bactria called,ALCALIGANCE VISCOLACTIS .I am a MICROBIOLOGIST also one times a post greduet student of milk microbiology.The best solution is to change the starter.That is the only way you can eliminate the viscolactis bacteria from curd.If you want to shorten the incubation period,put a glass of water for boiling in microwave oven,By theside of the glass now keep the yougart container for incubation.thi will work fast.
Think he mean Alcaligenes visolactis
Just buy it from the store – that will work fast and offers some guarantee of quality.
Great tips for fans of home-made yoghurt ladies…but I have long thought that given the cost of the ingredients and hassle factor, for a quick and consistent result it’s just easier to just buy it. (The containers can be handy too). I’m not a fan of sour yoghurt and the store – bought versions tend to be consistently mild.
I do occasionally strain it to make srikhand, though – can’t argue with that 😉