For good percentage of Indians, Curd (plain yogurt) is an unavoidable handy ingredient in kitchen, which is traditionally made at home from cow milk. But it’s surprising to me that most of Indians live in western world rely on ready-made curd available in grocery stores, which not even tastes closer to the traditional.  I am listing the steps here for an easy alternative to make traditionally tasted thick curd at home with easily available thick and pure milk. It really doesn’t require any difficult steps or expertise, if you follow any of the methods here. 

Ingredients 

1. Milk : 6 cups
2. Curd/yoghurt : 2 Tbl sp. (for bacterial culture)

Method

• Boil the milk, once it started bubbling in the edges (see the picture) switch off the flame and allow it to cool down to lukewarm.
• In a glass/steel container, pour the milk and add the culture-curd and mix it well and close it with a lid.

I normally use below 3 options for the fermentation:

1. If you are planning to keep the room heater running overnight, keep the container close to the heater.
2. Switch on the oven light and keep the milk near to the light, keep the oven closed. Keep it overnight
3. By preheating the oven

• Preheat the oven in low temperature (~ 170 F) for about 1 minute and switch off (Mine is a Gas oven, so heats quickly)
• Open the oven and check the heat , if u not feeling bearable heat in your hands (~75  to 85 deg C) then keep the container in the oven and close the oven. (Don’t overheat the oven, it will spoil the milk.)
• Repeat the same process for every 3-4 hours, before preheating the oven gently take the milk mixture out . Don’t shake it.

Tips:-

– Bought plain yoghurt can be used as the “bacterial culture: to start fermenting.
– Always preserve keep 2Tbl spoon for making the next batch.
– In oven pre-heated method, We love sour curd and hence I normally start 4.30 pm, checking 8 pm then 10.30 Next day morning sour thick curd will be ready.