Easy Thick & Tasty Peanut Curd (No Starter Required!)

Peanut curd is undoubtedly one of the most popular vegan curds out there! Peanuts are easily available, economical, and already very much a part of the typical Indian diet. The only problem that might arise with peanut curd is the unpleasant “nutty” odor that might arise when it is not prepared the right way. However, there is an easy procedure, one that I call the “Nimbu Namak Method,” to get rid of this nasty smell. Read this post on How to Make Peanut Milk to learn more about making deodorized, smooth, and thick peanut milk at home. 

To make rich and creamy peanut curd, you need two things: 

1. Good quality homemade peanut milk 
2. Good quality vegan curd starter 

I have already shared many ways of making homemade vegan curd starters on the blog, you can check them out here. 

However, it is still possible to make high-quality peanut curd even if you don’t have any vegan curd starter! The simple trick is to use green chilies 🙂 

All you have to do is slit 2-3 fresh green chilies and drop them into warm peanut milk and wait for it to set into thick, creamy curd. It is actually that simple! 

Time taken: 20 minutes + setting time (8-12 hours)

Yields: around 600 ml (4 cups)

1 Indian cup = 150 ml

Ingredients:

• 4 cups homemade peanut milk
• 3 fresh green chilies, slit in the middle

Method:

1. Bring the peanut milk to a gentle boil over medium-high heat, while stirring continuously. Use a deep-bottomed saucepan for this. Simmer for 1-2 minutes.
2. Let the milk cool down for a while. A skin will form on the surface; beat it into the milk with a hand whisk. 
3. When the milk is just warm, drop in the slit chilies and give it a little stir. Keep aside undisturbed for a few hours to allow the chilies to work their magic 🙂 
4. Your curd will be ready in 8-12 hours, depending on the weather conditions in your city. Curd prepared with chilies usually takes a bit longer to set than curd prepared with a vegan curd starter. 
5. Discard the chilies once the curd is ready and refrigerate. The curd will stay good for up to 3-4 days in an airtight container in the coldest region of the fridge. 

Use this curd as a replacement for dairy curd in any savory recipe like raita, chaach, kadhi, mor kozhumbu, curd rice, dahi aloo, etc. 

Enjoy 🙂