Amrakhand Recipe | Mango Shrikhand with Alphonso

Amrakhand recipe in one line: hang 500 g full-fat curd overnight, whisk the thick curd with the pulp of two ripe Alphonso mangoes, saffron soaked in warm milk, powdered sugar and cardamom, then chill for an hour. Mango shrikhand needs no cooking, only patience.

What amrakhand is, and why Alphonso suits it

Amrakhand (aamrakhand, mango shrikhand, aam shrikhand) is the mango version of shrikhand, the strained-curd sweet of Maharashtra and Gujarat. The base is chakka: curd hung in a cloth until the whey drains away and a thick, spoonable cream is left. Mix that cream with ripe mango pulp, a little sugar, saffron and cardamom, and you have amrakhand. It is served cold, often with hot puris, at the end of a summer meal.

We are Powle Home Foods in Mumbai, and we sell Alphonso mangoes under the AlphonsoMango.in name. We suggest Alphonso for this amrakhand recipe for a plain reason: Alphonso pulp is rich, creamy and non-fibrous, so it folds into chakka without leaving threads. Fibrous varieties can be blended, but the texture is never as smooth. Alphonso from the Ratnagiri and Devgad belt is GI-tagged in India (GI No. 139), and we hold GI Authorised User certificate AU/5974/GI/139/260 (GI No. 139).

The fresh season is short. Alphonso is harvested from about February to June, with the best supply from March to May, and the 2027 season opens on 1 February 2027. Outside those months use the Alphonso mango pulp tin (850 g and 3.1 kg, from Rs 590). The method below works with either.

Amrakhand ingredients (serves 4)

• 500 g full-fat curd (dahi)
• 2 ripe Alphonso mangoes, or 150 ml Alphonso mango pulp
• 4 to 5 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 8 to 10 saffron strands
• 2 tablespoons warm milk
• Half a teaspoon green cardamom powder
• A few chopped pistachios or cashews to finish

Use full-fat curd. Low-fat curd gives a loose chakka, and the mango pulp thins it further. Powdered sugar dissolves faster than granulated sugar and does not leave a grainy feel. Saffron is the one ingredient people skip; even six strands change the colour and the smell of the finished bowl. We sell Kashmiri saffron if you need it.

Amrakhand recipe: step by step

1. Line a sieve with a clean muslin cloth, pour in the curd, tie the cloth and hang it over a bowl inside the refrigerator for 8 to 10 hours.
2. Soak the saffron strands in two tablespoons of warm milk for 10 minutes until the milk turns deep yellow.
3. Peel the mangoes, cut the flesh off the stone and blend it to a smooth pulp. You need about 150 ml.
4. Put the hung curd in a chilled bowl. Add the mango pulp, saffron milk, powdered sugar and cardamom powder.
5. Whisk for two to three minutes until the mixture is smooth and glossy. Taste and add more sugar only if needed.
6. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour, then serve cold topped with chopped nuts and a few mango cubes.

Active work is about 15 minutes. Draining takes 8 to 10 hours and chilling one hour, so start the night before you want to serve it. Finished amrakhand keeps for two days in the refrigerator in a covered box.

Hanging the curd properly

This step decides the texture. Hang the curd inside the refrigerator, not on the kitchen counter: in Indian summer heat curd left out for eight hours turns sour. When the chakka is ready it feels like thick cream cheese and the whey in the bowl is almost clear. Do not throw the whey away; it goes into roti dough or a dal.

Getting the mango right

Use ripe fruit, not overripe fruit. A ripe Alphonso gives a little at the shoulder when pressed and smells sweet at the stalk. Fruit that has gone soft and wrinkled tastes fermented in the finished dish. Harvest to ripening of Alphonso takes about 15 days, so a box that arrives firm needs a few days at room temperature first. We do not use carbide. Our Alphonso mangoes are ripened naturally on hay beds.

Alphonso mangoes for amrakhand

We source fruit across 55 villages of the Ratnagiri and Devgad belt on the Konkan coast and sell it by the dozen, graded by fruit weight. For amrakhand the grade does not matter much; a smaller grade gives you more fruit for the money. Both products below are the same variety from two parts of the belt. Prices are from Rs 1,849 per dozen; check the product page for the current price.

Ratnagiri Alphonso Mango

from Rs 1,849 | Season opens 1 February 2027

Buy Now

Devgad Alphonso Mango

from Rs 1,849 | Season opens 1 February 2027

Buy Now

Two ripe Alphonso of the 180 to 225 g grade give roughly the 150 ml of pulp this recipe needs. One dozen is enough for amrakhand for a family gathering with fruit left to eat plain. For Kesar lovers, Kesar mango (half-dozen Rs 999, dozen Rs 1,699) also makes a good, slightly milder amrakhand.

Variations: pulp, Kesar, vegan and frozen

For the tin, our note on pulp versus puree explains what you are buying. If you prefer the drink version, the mango lassi recipe uses the same curd and mango pairing without hanging the curd.

Serving, storage and nutrition notes

• Serve cold, in small bowls. Clay bowls keep it cool at the table longer than steel.
• Pair with hot puris for the traditional Maharashtrian meal, or serve alone as dessert.
• Keep refrigerated and eat within two days; the curd continues to sour slowly.
• Do not freeze and thaw the plain mixture; it separates. Freeze only as the kulfi version above.

Nutrition depends on your proportions. The curd brings protein and calcium; the mango brings natural sugar and vitamin C (100 g of raw mango provides about 36 mg of vitamin C, roughly 40% of the Daily Value). Sugar is the only ingredient you fully control, so taste before adding the last spoon. More mango ideas are in our mango recipe collection and the aamras recipe.

People also ask

How long should curd be hung for amrakhand?

Hang full-fat curd in a muslin cloth for 8 to 10 hours, inside the refrigerator. Six hours leaves the chakka slightly loose, and mango pulp thins it further. The chakka is ready when it feels like thick cream cheese and the whey in the bowl below is almost clear.

Can I make amrakhand with mango pulp instead of fresh mango?

Yes. Use about 150 ml of Alphonso mango pulp from a tin in place of two fresh mangoes and follow the same method. Tinned pulp is already sweet, so start with three tablespoons of sugar. The pulp tin is available all year, while fresh Alphonso is sold only in season.

Which mango is best for amrakhand?

Alphonso is the usual choice because its pulp is rich, creamy and non-fibrous, so it blends into hung curd without threads. Kesar from Gujarat gives a milder, deep orange version. Fibrous varieties can be used if the pulp is strained, but the texture is never as smooth.

Can I use Greek yoghurt instead of hung curd?

Yes. Thick Greek yoghurt is already strained, so you can skip the overnight hanging and mix it straight with mango pulp, sugar, saffron and cardamom. It sets slightly denser and tastes less tangy than home-hung curd, but it saves eight hours and the result is close.

Related searches

• Aamras recipe with Alphonso
• Mango kulfi recipe
• Mango lassi recipe
• Alphonso mango pulp tin
• Buy Ratnagiri Alphonso mango online
• Kashmiri saffron for desserts
• How to ripen Alphonso mangoes at home

Written by Prashant Powle, founder of AlphonsoMango.in. Last reviewed October 2026.