Monday, August 8, 2011

DAHI , YOGURT, CURD AS IT IS KNOW ....



' Dahi ' the word comes from Dadhi which is a Sanskrit word. Dahi is had all over the world.
In India, the word curd  means only plain yogurt or dahi. Yogurt  is a dairy product produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. Fermentation of lactose produces lactic acid, which acts on milk protein to give yogurt its texture and its characteristic tang.
Dahi is made in few simple steps. First milk is boiled then allowed to cool. In the milk, a inoculated starter is added and then it is left to set. The ' inoculated starter'  dahi is previous day's dahi which is added and this contains micro organisms, which start to grow fast and also ferment. This process of fermentation stops when a level of acidity is reached. This acid level mixes with the calcium to form calcium lactate. Dahi to set depends on the weather, the starter added has to be satisfactory, so that the end product is of desirable taste.  Another important aspect is whether milk is too hot? . Then the set dahi will be sour and  leave water on top. If the milk is not properly hot, it will not set well. Most important Tip is do not shift, change the place  of the container in which dahi is set once it is kept.
Krishna Janmashtami is a Hindu festival celebrating the birth of Krishna, an Avatar of 
the Hindu deity Vishnu.
Krishna Janmashtami is celebrated on the eighth day of the dark half or Krishna Paksha of the month of Bhadrapada in the Hindu calendar.
On that  day at midnight, the idol of the infant Krishna is bathed, adorned in new clothes and
jewellery and  placed in a cradle and worshiped. The fast is completed after aarti, a special prayer that is  offered.
The next day  after  Janmaashtami,  is popularly known in Mumbai and Pune as Dahi Handi,.
the Dahi Handi  celebrate God's playful and mischievous side, where teams of young men form human pyramids to reach a high hanging pot of butter and break it called  Gokulashtami. 

Dahi in India,also known as  curd  is by used large population. People often add dahi  in several types of foods prepared by them.  Srikhand is also made from dahi, it is partially strained through a cloth to remove the whey. This process produces a solid mass in which a required amount of sugar is also added. Srikhand is a semi soft, sweetish sour milk product widely used in India.
There is a  introduction of wide variety of flavored dahi. Dahi used to be set in earthen pots also.
Dahi can be had as it will give our body calcium and phosphorous.
It will give good appetite and vitality.
The one's with ' lactose in tolerance' can have dahi as the process of making dahi converts the
lactose into lactic acid. Enjoy dahi in your daily diet.

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