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Almond Yogurt Recipe That Tastes Just Like Dairy Curd – With Sesame, Rice And Almonds
If you are looking for a thick, creamy vegan yogurt made without any artificial thickeners, then look no further.
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There are many different recipes for making vegan yogurt. I recently posted a chickpea yogurt recipe, and some of you mentioned that you did not like the strong beany taste that it had. The chickpea yogurt will be very suitable for savory recipes like chaas, raita, kadhi or even papdi chaat, but I do realize that it may not be the best option to use in a sweet recipe or to eat it as it is.
After 3 weeks of trying different recipes using different nuts and seeds, I have come up with a yogurt recipe that sets as thick as dairy and chickpea yogurt and also tastes very similar to dairy. Read on to find out more.
Print Recipe
Ingredients:
- ¼ cup rice
- ½ cup almonds
- 1 table spoon sesame seeds
- Water (1 cup for soaking and blending rice, 2-3 cups for soaking almonds and sesame seeds, 1¾ cup for almond sesame milk)
If you want to make coconut yogurt, you can use this same recipe and just replace the almonds and sesame milk with 3 cups of coconut milk.
Be exact with the quantities and duration mentioned, as they are very important to get the recipe right. To start with, we need to soak the ingredients in water. If the weather is hot (25°C or above), 5-8 hours should be sufficient, else you can soak it for up to 10-12 hours. Try not to oversoak it. The recipe will still work, but the yogurt may have a slightly strange taste of overcooked rice.
You can also watch a video of this recipe below:
Take the rice in a container, rinse it once and soak it in 1 cup of water. Make sure not to over wash the rice. It is important that we soak the rice in exactly one cup of water as we will be using the rice water later on. In another container, take the almonds and sesame seeds and soak them in enough water. Leave them aside for 8 – 12 hours.
After soaking, drain the water from the almonds and sesame seeds and move them to the blender. Blend them to form a smooth paste, by adding 1 and a half cups of fresh water little by little. Now pass this through a nut milk bag or a cheese cloth and squeeze it to extract the milk. The remaining pulp can be used in various recipes or even as a face and body scrub. The almond sesame milk is ready, keep it aside.
Then, take all the soaking water of rice into container A and also save 1 tablespoon out of this into container B.
This 1 tbsp of rice water (from container B) will be used as the curd starter. Now blend the rice with a small amount of soaking water (from container A) to form a smooth cream. Mix the remaining water (from container A) in the cream, but remember NOT to use the 1 table spoon (from container B) that we have set aside.
Next, heat the almond sesame milk in a heavy bottom pan. If you do not have one, you can also use a double boiler, because the milk will start burning at the edges. Keep stirring the milk till it starts bubbling. Now, add the rice cream slowly, while stirring continuously. Keep stirring until it starts bubbling again. It will then turn into a thick, custard-like consistency. When this happens, turn off the stove and keep stirring while it cools down. Otherwise, a layer of fat will start to deposit at the top while the milk will still be hot at the bottom.
After it comes down to a lukewarm temperature, take some milk in your finger. It should feel bearably warm but not boiling hot (Ideal temperature for bacteria to thrive is around 40°C or 105°F). Move it to a curd pot. Try to use a non-metallic container and avoid plastic, as these will hinder the growth of good bacteria. Now add the 1 tablespoon of rice soaking water (container B) that we saved earlier as the curd starter and stir well. In case you forgot to save the water, you can use chilli crowns, though the results may not turn out to be as perfect. Cover the container with a piece of cloth or a clay or stone lid. Let it sit for 7 – 12 hours. After this period, the curd would have set and have a sour taste.
I was quite surprised to find out this almond yogurt tasted almost exactly like dairy curd, though it has been very long since I had dairy. The texture is also thick and creamy and it doesn’t taste of almonds or rice. This can be used in any sweet or savoury dishes like papdi chaat, masala chaas, kadhi or breakfast cereals.
Make sure you give this vegan yogurt recipe a try and let us know how you like it!
Thick Almond Yogurt
Equipment
- Blender
- Nut milk bag/cheese cloth/muslin cloth
- Heavy bottom pan or double boiler
- Strainer/sieve
- Curd pot/Non metallic pot like glass, clay, stone, ceramic
Ingredients
- ¼ cup Rice any variety: brown, white, red etc, can also use millet rice like barnyard or little millet
- ½ cup Almonds
- 1 tbsp Sesame seeds
- Water (1 cup for soaking and blending rice, 2-3 cups for soaking almonds and sesame seeds, 1 ¾ cup for almond sesame milk)
Instructions
- Soak rice in a container, rinse it just once and soak it in 1 cup of water for 6-8 hrs
- In another container, soak almonds and sesame seeds in enough water for 6-8 hrs
Almond + Sesame Milk
- After soaking, drain the water from the almonds and sesame seeds and move them to the blender.
- Blend them to form a smooth paste, by adding 1 and a half cups of fresh water little by little.
- Pass this through a nut milk bag or a cheese cloth and squeeze it to extract the milk.
Curd Starter
- Take all the soaking water of rice into container A and also save 1 tbsp out of this into container B. This 1 tbsp of rice water (from container B) will be used as the curd starter.
Rice Milk
- Blend the rice with a small amount of soaking water (from container A) to form a smooth cream.
- Once cream is formed, mix the remaining water (from container A) in the cream.
Heating
- Heat the almond sesame milk in a heavy bottom pan.
- Keep stirring the milk till it starts bubbling.
- Now, add the rice cream slowly, while stirring continuously.
- Keep stirring until it starts bubbling again. It will then turn into a thick, custard-like consistency.
- Turn off the stove and keep stirring while it cools down.
Setting the curd
- When it cools down to a lukewarm temperature, take some milk in your finger. It should feel bearably warm but not boiling hot (Ideal temperature for bacteria to thrive is around 40°C or 105°F).
- Move it to a curd pot or any non metallic container like glass or ceramic.
- Add the 1 tablespoon of rice soaking water (container B) that we saved earlier as the curd starter and stir well.
- Cover the container with a piece of cloth or a clay or stone lid.
- Let it sit for 7 – 12 hours. Once the curd is set, it will have a sour taste.
Notes
- Pulp from almonds and sesame seeds can be used in various recipes or even as a face and body scrub.
- In case you forgot to save the soaking water of rice to use as curd starter, you can use green chilli crowns (heads).
- To set the curd, try to use a non-metallic container and avoid plastic, as these will hinder the growth of good bacteria. Best materials are earthen or stone pots. Glass and ceramic work well too.
- To get most of the live culture in the curd/yogurt, it is ideal to eat as soon as it is ready at room temperature. However, you can refrigerate it for 3-4 days. It will become more sour with time.
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Note: This is Priyanka Jain’s Recipe, Video transcribed by Rohini Ravee Ramanathan.
