Summers are possibly the worst time of the year for your digestion and gut health. It’s that time of the year when you don’t feel like eating anything, you want to live off liquids, and you hate the idea of having hot foods. You probably wait for fresh food to turn cold before eating it. In such a scenario, one of the Indian superfoods you can rely on is curd.

Yes, the dairy product created thousands of years ago by curdling milk is still a favorite and a must-have item in many Indian households. If it’s always available at your home too, you are quite lucky as it’s loaded with good bacteria, tastes good and can be had with almost anything, even plain rice.

How to Set Curd?

The process of setting curd is easy. You just need a bit of already set curd or buy a bit from the market. Then you have to boil milk for a few minutes, let it cool down so that it becomes warm and add a tablespoon of curd. Then you can leave it for about 4-6 hours (longer when the weather is cold) and tada, the new curd will be set. Put it right into the refrigerator if you don’t want it to be too sour to consume. In case you need to leave the house when the curd is setting, and you don’t want it to be too sour, it is advised that you put it in a large bowl of water.

The Best Way of Beating the Heat with Curd

Have Curd Rice

No matter whether you are a busy mother of two or a bachelor living alone, you can prepare curd rice every day and have it to keep you cool in the summer heat. Start by cooking or simply boiling rice till its soft and add curd. You can have it as it is or add other seasonings like curry leaves, mustard, chilies, or ginger. Some people even add tomatoes, green mango pomegranate or grated carrots to enhance its taste. In case you want to have a bit of curd rice now and the rest of it a few hours later, add a bit of milk to it.

Make Raitas

If you are more of a chapati person than a rice lover, you can have curd with simple dal roti or roti sabzi as well. Just create raitas. To create raita, you need thick and sweet curd. Begin the process by beating the curd well, adding a few dashes of salt, a bit of chopped green chili, some chopped ginger and a bit of sugar (optional). Then you need to add a vegetable of your choice to it. It can be boiled and diced beetroot, grated carrot, boiled potatoes, grated carrot, chopped onion or some roasted and roughly mashed brinjal. You can also make a combination of two or more of these vegetables as well. Top it off with dry roasted and powdered cumin seed and red chili powder.

Make a Dip

One more idea is to take thick curd and put it in a plastic strainer till all the water is separated. Then you need to beat it well and add pepper and salt. Once the dip is ready,you can add different ingredients like chopped garlic, cheese, tomato puree, herbs or anything else you can think of. You can use this dip to add flavor to raw vegetables you munch of like carrot, radish, etc. You can also add it to dry toast or chips to enhance their flavor.