Hung curd is one of the simplest things to make in a home kitchen. You need good curd, something to drain it through, and time.
What hung curd is
Hung curd is ordinary curd with the whey drained off. The whey is the thin, pale liquid that gathers on curd as it stands. Take it away and what is left is thick, smooth and spoonable, closer to soft cheese than to the curd you started with.
It is the base of many dishes: shrikhand, thick dips, a richer raita, and labneh, the soft cheese often rolled into balls. The longer it drains, the thicker it becomes.
Step 1 — set the curd
Start with fresh, well-set curd that is not sour. Curd set at home the night before is ideal, and curd from a shop works too. Sour curd gives sour hung curd: draining only makes the taste stronger.
Stir it gently once before draining, so it is even all the way through.
Step 2 — drain it
The old way is a clean muslin cloth:
- Line a bowl with the muslin and pour in the curd.
- Gather the corners, tie them together and hang the bundle over the bowl, or rest it in a strainer set over the bowl.
- Keep it in the fridge while it drains, so it stays fresh.
After a few hours it is thick enough for most dishes; left longer, it becomes firmer still. Keep the whey if you like; many cooks use it in dough or in curries.
A strainer made for the job saves the cloth and the tying. The Sidfiy hung curd maker has a fine mesh strainer that lets the whey run off and holds 1200 ml, enough for a family batch. With it, curd reaches Greek-yogurt thickness in 3–4 hours and becomes thick hung curd in about 8 hours. Its parts go in the dishwasher.
Step 3 — use it
- Shrikhand: sweeten it with powdered sugar and flavour it with cardamom or saffron.
- A dip: stir in salt, pepper, chopped herbs and a little garlic.
- Raita: loosen it with a spoon of the whey and add cucumber or onion.
- Labneh: drain it for longer, until it is firm, then roll it into small balls.
Hung curd keeps in a covered box in the fridge for a day or two. Use a clean, dry spoon each time.