Home made Yoghurt

We use a lot of yoghurt in our cooking, from marinating the meats in it to using it for the Raita, Lassi, Kadi... most Indian homes always have yoghurt or "Dahi" as it is called, as a base for next day's yoghurt, a spoonful is always kept aside for setting the Dahi for the next day.
Yoghurt is good for health, in a way better than milk, not only because it has live bacterial cultures which give a number of health benefits, but also since volume for volume, it has more calcium too ! But the health benefits are considerably reduced when we buy ready made yoghurt, since it would have been pasteurized, the harmful as well as the useful bacteria would have been killed - so the benefit from the live culture is reduced - and most yoghurt we buy here in Shanghai has added sugar - which adds unnecessary calories.

It is quite easy to make at home, and the taste of homemade yoghurt is unparalleled - try it !

Preperation time :
Cooking time : 10 minutes. Waiting time : 6 hours
Ingredients :

Milk - 500 ml ( or more if you would like more yoghurt)

Yoghurt culture - 1 Tablespoon
Please buy it from any Indian restaurant- ask for Plain Dahi., or take from some one who makes it regularly - you can use the store bought yoghurt, but the results are not that good .

Method :

1. Boil milk. Let cool upto 120 degrees F. If you dont have a thermometer, don't panic ! The milk needs to be just a little warmer than luke warm - if you take a spoonful of it and touch it, it should be a just hot enough, not burn.
2. Add the culture, or Dahi.
3. Cover the container and keep it in a warm place, undisturbed, for six hours.
4. In winters, it takes a longer time to set, and in summer, less.
5. Yoghurt needs temperature between 98 F and 115 F to set well. When the temperature drops in winters, you need to cover the container with an old scarf, and place it in a warm place - say a microwave oven, or ordinary oven. Since it needs to be undisturbed for six hours, if you are placing it in a microwave, it would be better if you plan it in such a way you dont need to use the microwave for that long !
6. Once set, store the yoghurt in the refrigerator or it will get sour.
7. This can be stored for one week to ten days in the refrigerator, at 40 deg F.