Setting curd before winding up the kitchen at night has been a part of my daily routine for decades. In winters, as temperatures fall the task becomes daunting. I try to follow my mom-in law’s golden rule for the perfect curd: mix a little curd thoroughly into sufficiently warm milk and wrap the milk bowl in layers of covering depending upon warmth that you require for yourself. However, the fact remains setting curd to the right taste and texture is tricky. I remain apprehensive about the outcome.
This morning, while uncovering the curd bowl, out of the blue, memory of my first attempt at setting curd, a non-starter, flashed across my mind. I was transported to the time when I was a naïve newlywed staying with my husband in a rented accommodation on the top floor of a three-storey house. After getting sundry things together like a stove, utensils, crockery, cutlery, and groceries, I was bubbling with enthusiasm when I took the command of the kitchen. Eager to prove my mettle as a ‘kitchen queen’, I set out to make curd.
The first time I kept milk for setting curd, I found an empty bowl with no trace of curd in the morning. I was perplexed. However, I thought I might have forgotten to pour milk into the bowl. But when an empty utensil on the kitchen shelf stared at me for the second time, alarm bells began to ring. This time I had no doubt, whatsoever. I remembered categorically placing a bowl of milk on the kitchen counter at night for setting curd.
What my husband and I dismissed earlier as a possible lapse on my part became a matter of concern now. We began a frantic search for any possible opening through which a cat could enter the apartment but found none. Mystery deepened as milk would disappear every now and then. When we didn’t find any entry point for the cat, our needle of suspicion shifted to a snake. Fed on the myth that snakes like milk, we imagined a snake in the house that would remain in hiding during the day to come out quietly at night to drink milk. I would imagine a snake crawling on the bed. Fear was getting scarier by the day as the mystery remained unresolved.
At a time when our imagination was running wild giving us nightmares, I noticed a cat entering the kitchen from the adjacent room. The moment she saw me, she beat a hasty retreat as softly and swiftly as she had entered through the bathroom. The culprit was found. The mystery was resolved. We discovered a small gap in the grills of the bathroom window from where the cat would slip in. Whenever she found bathroom door open, she would sneak in and polish off all the milk.
The disastrous start dampened my spirits, but not my resolve. The outcome may not always be perfect, but setting curd is a routine that I follow religiously. Not just curd, I take pride in whipping white butter, converting the left over butter into ghee and also making paneer, but to my children all this is unnecessary hassle. They often chide me for running a dairy farm at home, questioning the need for home preparation when the packed stuff is readily available in the market. However, preparing these milk products at home is sacrosanct for me. I must follow the age-old practice, though I am aware that mine is the last generation to do so.
(Published in Woman’s era , February 2025)
Excellent write up. A bane of almost every newly wed’s life experiences in India specially. We may call it… Trial n error n discovery and d cat was out of d bag!!
Omg ! Totally bowled over by your crisp comment!
Thanks a lot Pratima .
Your articles are always engrossing. They always make me think that what is going to happen next. Cat mystery has made it Comedy come Mystery article. Loved it
It is a huge compliment for me that you enjoy reading my pieces. Humbled .
Thank you so much dear Mrs Chopra for your generous compliments. 🙏
This one is hilarious Rama. The disappearing milk, the presence of a cat or a snake paying a visit into your kitchen. It was definitely becoming scary when suddenly the cat is found.
We all have our own anecdotes to tell. I still go wrong with the curd many a times specially in the winters. You are right, ours is probably the last generation which is persuing these dairy activities at home.
Such a heartwarming article that only you can write
Thanks dear for your lovely comment, so pleasing.
Yes Alka , setting curd is dicy, especially in winters . You will be surprised I have kept a woollen cap and a shawl for covering curd bowl in extreme cold .
Interesting episode described well , keeping the curiosity of the reader alive till the end my James Bond !
For sure ours is the last generation to follow the tradition of setting curd ! Each one of us having own art of perfecting the feat ! The joy of seeing fresh unsalted butter after Bilona extraction method is indescribable .
Setting the curd also depends upon getting right microbes for the job . On next meeting distribute some ‘ jaag ‘ the perfect microbes you have maintained the lineage off !!
Happy curd setting dear ! keep writing dear ! Well done 👍
Vini , Kya likhti ho ! Kammal karti ho !!
Yes , I feel ours is last generation to follow the tradition of setting curd at home . The young generation doesn’t even have time to boil milk . They prefer milk in tetra- packs which has a much longer shelf life .
Setting curd perfectly has always been a challenge for me …but Rama dear you have woven an engrossing and amusing narrative around it with the magical touch of mystery making it an amusing write up……May your creative bacteria keep regaling us with the marvels of your pen.God 🙌
Thank you so much dear Mrs Dhawan . In fact , I am the one mesmerised by the magical flow of words from your pen .
Ever grateful to you for your encouragement..feel motivated and charged to write another piece.