Raising questions, busting myths around the pedestrian but venerated curd

The probiotic content of the widely available homemade curd varies considerably from home to home

For the vast majority of residents of the Indian subcontinent, curd in some form or other is an essential item of the daily menu. Particularly in the punishing summer, solicitous grandmothers insist to this day that children consume it religiously, considering it a panacea for every ill ranging from a parched palate to an upset stomach. This well-integrated member of most regional Indian cuisines has also traditionally served as a countervailing force to the infamous Indian spice intake. Data by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (2012) suggests that seven per cent of the country’s total annual milk production —