Chakka (Hung Curd — Sweet)

Name: Chakka
Prep time: 485 min
Total time: 485 min
Yield: 30 servings
Cuisine: Indian (Maharashtra)
Ingredients: 1 kg full-fat yogurt (strained overnight — yields ~400 g chakka); 3–4 tbsp Kolhapuri jaggery (gur), grated — start with 3 tbsp; adjust to taste; ½ tsp cardamom powder; Pinch of nutmeg; 2 tbsp pistachios, slivered (garnish); 1 tbsp charoli seeds (garnish); Use Kolhapuri gur (jaggery) for the deepest, most complex flavour — it has a molasses richness that refined sugar cannot mimic; Don't over-sweeten — the slight tang of the yogurt must be perceptible; it's the counterpoint to the sweet jaggery; The rougher texture (not whisked smooth) is intentional for the rural version

🟢 Veg🌾 Gluten-free📊 Easy

Pure hung curd sweetened with jaggery (the rural, jaggery-sweetened version of shrikhand) — Chakka refers specifically to the thick strained yogurt before it becomes Shrikhand. In rural Maharashtra, particularly Kolhapur and Sangli, sweetened chakka with jaggery (rather than powdered sugar) is eaten as a standalone dessert: chunky, tangy, cooling and profoundly simple. The jaggery version has a caramel-earthy complexity that powdered sugar cannot replicate.

⏱️485 minPrep

🕒485 minTotal

🍽️30Serves

🧺 Ingredients

1 kg full-fat yogurt (strained overnight — yields ~400 g chakka)
3–4 tbsp Kolhapuri jaggery (gur), grated — start with 3 tbsp; adjust to taste
½ tsp cardamom powder
Pinch of nutmeg
2 tbsp pistachios, slivered (garnish)
1 tbsp charoli seeds (garnish)

👩‍🍳 How to make Chakka

Follow the same straining method as Shrikhand (Recipe 2): double-layer muslin cloth in a colander over a bowl in the refrigerator overnight.
After 8–12 hours, you'll have thick, Greek-yogurt-style chakka.
Do not whisk or beat the chakka — the jaggery version is intentionally slightly chunkier and more rustic than the whisked shrikhand.
Add grated jaggery to chakka.
Mix with a spoon until jaggery dissolves into the chakka — some speckles of darker jaggery are acceptable and add visual interest.
Add cardamom and nutmeg.
Stir gently.
Spoon into individual katoris.
Garnish with pistachio slivers and charoli.
Serve chilled alongside fresh jowar or bajra bhakri for the classic rural Maharashtra pairing — or simply as a cool, light dessert on its own.

📖 Cultural notes

|---|---|---|---|---| | 160 kcal | 9 g | 22 g | 4 g | 0 g | The daily dessert of rural Maharashtra — farmers in Kolhapur and Sangli districts have eaten chakka with jaggery at the end of every meal for generations. Kolhapur is famous for both its outstanding Kolhapuri jaggery (one of India's finest, with a rich molasses content) and its outstanding yogurt culture from the dairy-heavy Gokul Shirgaon belt. Urban Maharashtrians who grew up in rural homes identify this simple preparation as the most nostalgic taste of their grandmother's kitchen. Increasingly served at upscale Maharashtrian restaurants as a "nostalgic rural dessert" alongside organic jaggery. ---

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