Cooking with Yogurt

Making it Wonderful with Yogurt!

Natural yogurt has a clean, slightly acidic, tart flavour that combines well with a variety of foods. Like cream, yogurt can curdle if over- heated. So simply stir in just before serving or mix in a little cornflour before adding to a hot dish.

• Add as an accompaniment or ingredient to spicy foods such as curries and chilli dishes.
• Combine with spices such as cumin, coriander or chilli and use as a tenderising marinade for chicken, lamb or fish.
• Toss into dips, cold sauces and salad dressings.
• Try as a low kilojoule alternative to cream, sour cream or mayonnaise.
• Add to stroganoffs, dressings and sauces.
• Include on nachos, baked potatoes and wedges.
• Serve with char grilled meats, kebabs or souvlaki.
• Pour or dollop over muesli or fruit or add to Bircher muesli.
• Add fruit or flavoured yogurts to cereals, fruit smoothies, milkshakes or mocktails.
• Use as a luscious base for desserts such as low fat mousses, fruit flans and parfaits.
• Use instead of milk for pancakes, scones, muffins and cakes to give extra tang.
• Combine with tahini and cumin for a Middle Eastern-style dip or sauce.
• Blend with roasted eggplant puree, tahini and garlic for a quick dip or accompaniment.
• Blend with berries, banana and/or mango and milk to create smoothies.
• Use as the basis of the delicious Indian dairy drink, lassie.
• Combine with chopped fresh coriander and sweet chilli sauce for dipping potato wedges.
• Flavour with chopped fresh herbs and lemon rind and dollop over lamb or chicken.
• Enjoy simply sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon with seasonal fruit or dried fruit cooked in a sticky syrup. Drizzle with honey and eat as is with fresh or liqueur soaked fruit.
  

Labna

Labna is yogurt that has been drained of whey to form a fresh yogurt “cheese”. Add a pinch of salt to natural set yogurt before placing in a double thickness of muslin cloth and suspending over a bowl or placing in a strainer over a bowl to catch the excess whey.

Drain for a minimum of 36 hours. Use wet or lightly oiled hands to roll Labna into balls. Once drained, flavourings can be added to the yogurt before or after being rolled into balls.

Savoury Labna 

• Add crushed garlic and chopped fresh herbs before rolling
• Roll in dukkah and drizzle with olive oil
• Sprinkle with black sesame seeds and chopped fresh coriander
• Store in a jar with fresh herbs and garlic, covered with olive oil.

Sweet Labna

• Flavoured with sweet ingredients to create an unusual dessert - vanilla, crushed hazelnuts and cinnamon sugar. Great served with compote of fruit or poached quinces.