How to make thick yogurt (curd or dahi) at home

How to make thick yogurt (curd or dahi) at home step-by-step recipe with photos.

I cannot imagine a day in my life without yogurt (curd or dahi or mosaru). It is an essential part of our food. Yogurt is a part of our breakfast, lunch, dinner, and lunch boxes too. Be it summer or winter, this is an important part of our daily food. Making yogurt at home is the best option as it has all the good bacteria and probiotics intact.

Jump to:

• Nutrition/health benefits of yogurt
• Ingredients to make thick yogurt (curd or dahi)
• Important points to remember
• How to make thick yogurt (curd or dahi) step-by-step recipe with photos
• How to make thick yogurt at home

Nutrition/health benefits of yogurt

Yogurt is high in beneficial proteins and fats, along with many essential vitamins and minerals, the most notable being B12 and Vitamin D. Yogurt is also a very good source of calcium. Good quality yogurt is very high in probiotic bacteria which is very beneficial for gut health. Probiotics also help in reducing inflammation. Yogurt should be avoided by people with milk allergy, however people with mild lactose intolerance may be able to tolerate homemade yogurt which has been fermented for at least 24 hours.

Ingredients to make thick yogurt (curd or dahi)

Milk: While skim milk can be used to make yogurt, I highly recommend using whole milk. Whole milk helps in making the yogurt thick and creamy. Use unhomogenised milk where possible.

Culture: Culture is basically a blend of bacteria that helps to convert milk into yogurt by fermentation. It can be called a starter for the yogurt. Traditionally, yogurt/curd itself is added as the culture. However, you may choose to use

Milk Powder: This is purely optional but adding milk powder adds creaminess and thickness to the yogurt.

Important points to remember

– Setting yogurt in an earthen pot makes it very thick and creamy
– Keep the yogurt in a warm place to set. On a cold night, you can turn on the light of the oven and place it in the oven (turned-off oven with only the light on). You may also place a blanket over the top of the bowl after setting it
– Make sure the milk is just lukewarm while adding the culture. If the temperature of the milk is high, the bacteria of the culture will die.
– Ideally, the temperature should be around 40 degrees C.
– Refrigerating the yogurt for a further 5-6 hours before serving will make it very thick
– Milk powder give the yogurt a very creamy and thick texture, however, is purely optional and can be skipped

Store-bought yogurt may be easy and convenient but can never match the quality and taste of homemade yogurt. When I was a child, I always saw my mom setting a bowl of yogurt every night for the next day. And I think that is a chore done at most Indian households. Once you start making yogurt at home you will never want to go back to the store-bought ones.

Click here to see recipes where yogurt is used as the main ingredient.

Follow my recipe and read the notes below to make thick yogurt (curd or dahi) at home every time.

How to make thick yogurt (curd or dahi) step-by-step recipe with photos

1. Add milk powder to lukewarm milk

2. Mix well making sure there are no lumps

3. Add curd or active culture and let it set

4. Well-set yogurt

5. Refrigerate for best result