How To Make Yogurt At Home

Name: How To Make Yogurt At Home
Prep time: 10 min
Ingredients: 1 liter Full fat milk; 30 gm Full fat yogurt; Pinch of Salt

Creamy, rich and delicious yogurt or dahi is a staple in my house. All you need is 3 ingredients to make this recipe.

Homemade dahi aka yogurt aka curd is so simple to make and needs only 3 ingredients. But don’t be fooled by its simplicity. If you don’t follow the steps to make it accurately you will end up with a lumpy milk like mixture that is not what yogurt should be like.

I have had my share of goof ups and this blog will tell you exactly how to make it at home as long as you follow the steps correctly. Once you master how to make it, you can make various flavors and add fruits or nuts into the mixture while it sets. Also the recipe doesn’t take much of your physical time, once the mixture is ready it sets over night while you sleep and wake up to fresh homemade curd.

What ingredients do you need to make Homemade Yogurt?

We need milk, a little yogurt (aka starter) from the fridge (store bought) and a pinch of salt. Some say to add a little lemon juice or lime juice but I personally don’t think it is necessary. What is necessary is to use full fat milk and full fat yogurt (starter) especially if you are making this for the first time.

What equipment do you need to make Homemade Yogurt?

We need a heavy bottom sauce pan, a wooden spoon and a setting container. Now this container can be glass, ceramic, steel or clay. I personally do not like making yogurt in place containers. Also growing up I’ve see yogurt being set in clay pots so it is my choice most times. I have also used mason jars which work fine too. All of these pots need to be sterilized before using. Meaning what? They need to washed and soaked in boiling water and dried in an over for 10 mins at 160℃. This will ensure your yogurt lasts longer.

How to make Homemade Yogurt?

We start by boiling the milk until you see it rise. Once it has boiled, you need to reduce the heat and let it simmer. If you like a thicker yogurt ( which I do) let it simmer for 5-8 mins until the milk has reduced a little. If you don’t mind a thinner yogurt you can simmer it for 1-3 mins. Take off the heat once reduced and let it come to 45 deg℃. Now you can check this with a thermometer or you can check it with you clean finger dunked into the center of the milk. If you can hold it there for 5 seconds without feeling too much heat then you are good to go. Pour the yogurt into the milk and add the salt. Stir around until smooth. Transfer this to you pot and set aside in a warm place over night. I like to cover this and keep it in my oven which is switched off. If you live in a colder climate you would need keep your oven on at a low temperature for the yogurt to set.

It will take 10-12 hours to set so it makes sense to make this at night as it will set while you sleep. And wake up to fresh yogurt in the morning. Once it has set, transfer it to the fridge and use as required. You can serve this with fruit, nuts, granola, dunked in smoothies or on its own.

Once this is made it can be store for up to 8 days in the fridge. I wouldn’t recommend freezing this. If you want to make more yogurt, use a little of this yogurt and continue making homemade yogurt with your home made starter.

Now that we have covered how to make Homemade Yogurt, you can have a look at the recipe video here but let’s get to it.

If you try this recipe out, don’t forget to share it with me on instagram so I can see how it turned out. I’d love nothing more than to chat with you on your cooking/baking. Happy Eating Ninjas!