Brad and Priya Make Yogurt

That's cool, that's a cool trick you've got there.

You like that?

Yeah, I have one too.

Ooooooo, get in here.

You guys gotta see this.

Wow.

Priya's skils.

Today we're gonna, today on It's Alive

we're gonna learn how to--

We're gonna Twirl pens.

Twirl pens.

Probably be our best video.

Forget the yogurt.

Yogurt shmogurt, we're twirling pens baby.

How many times do you record this intro?

Thousands.

It's literally the hardest part.

Priya I can't even say a full sentence

from start to finish.

It's very challenging.

How about, today on It's Alive, we're making yogurt.

Brad's never made yogurt before,

but I grew up making it all the time.

So here we go.

Hello.

The vehicle service center.

[upbeat music]

Yeah, let's get started.

I got this little induction burner.

You have the fancy thing.

A little heat source.

My dad's whole thing is that there's yogurt makers,

there's all this fancy equipment,

but you don't actually need any fancy equipment.

Well like most things,

it probably happened by accident originally.

Yeah.

Like some milk was left out.

Yeah, was left out, exactly.

You're basically like leaving milk out

to spoil a little bit.

I dosing it with some life.

Some cultures, yeah.

What's the first step?

Before we get going, where did you learn how to make yogurt?

You mentioned your dad.

Yeah.

Not yet.

So why don't you walk me through the first step.

I already measured out four cups of whole milk yogurt.

I meant, I'm sorry, whole milk, full fat milk.

And four cups right?

That's what you told me, my part.

I did all right.

You're good so far.

And then what's next?

We're just going to bring it to a boil.

A boil?

Yes.

Are you a big milk fan?

I'm a huge.

You drink milk?

Yeah, I drink a lot of milk.

Wow really?

Yeah, I don't know.

Strong bones.

As like Indian kids we grew up coming home

from school, we'd have a banana and a glass of milk.

That was like mandatory.

Banana and a glass of milk.

Yeah.

You're gonna live to be 150.

Now what are you doing this for?

Is it just to kill any unwanted bacteria

that might be in it, because it's already pasteurized.

Yeah that's a good question

that I don't know the answer to.

All right, fair enough.

Me neither.

It's just how I was raised.

All right, we'll stick to the old man's tradition.

I mean, he's very particular.

I don't mean that disrespectfully.

I call my dad old man.

Oh I go O-L-E, not old man.

Ole man.

I call you old man.

You call me old man?

With the D.

That's fine, I am getting a little old.

I feel it in my knees.

[Priya] Oh.

Maybe I should drink more milk huh?

You probably should've drank more milk and a banana.

And a banana.

When you were younger, my knees feel great.

All right, great, so let's watch the milk boil.

[upbeat music]

When my sister and I are home,

my dad makes yogurt almost every day.

[Brad] Oh really?

Yeah.

I feel like people are doing their own.

Like home fermenting isn't as scary as it used to be now.

No, well I mean it's, back before refrigeration

it was like kind of mandatory.

Yeah.

Everyone did it right?

And then people were scared and now we're back to basics.

Now we're back to basics.

And it has a good reward.

Most fermented things, or live cultured things

are usually good for your butt.

Your butt.

Your gut bio.

I mean, ultimately your butt.

I grew up on homemade yogurt and didn't realize

what a luxury it was, and then when I went to college

and had like the packaged stuff,

I was like oh my god, I had it so good.

Now when I was doing it before,

this little skin forms on top.

Yeah, that's fine.

You just leave that?

Totally fine.

Okay we'll address that later.

In fact, some people really love the skin.

And eat it?

And I know a lot of Indian kids growing up,

they used to fight over who would get to eat the skin.

Okay look we have little bubbles.

Come on get in her bud.

My gut says turn it off.

[Priya] Yeah, yeah.

[Brad] Oh god, turn it off.

[Priya] Turn it off, turn it off!.

So I printed out.

Oh you did.

Dad's yogurt.

You got this, you worked with your dad and wrote this out?

Yeah, in fact, the first version of the recipe he sent me

was like four single spaced pages long.

Oh my god.

So this is heavily abbreviated.

It was whole journey.

[Priya] Did my dad write Brad on it or did you?

[Brad] No, I did.

The hand writing of a four year old, that's me, yeah.

Tell us a little bit about

what's in this little cup here Priya.

So this starter has existed in my family

for over 30 years, because my dad--

Thanks dad.

When he immigrated to the U.S. he started

making his own yogurt.

It's sort of a thing in Indian culture,

when someone arrives in America,

you gift them by giving them some of your yogurt culture,

so they can make homemade yogurt of their own.

It's like a very wonderful tradition.

Aw, that's very nice.

Now when we make a yogurt, I can just reserve a little bit,

and that's starter, that's all this was?

Yeah, that's all it was.

It's funny how people purchase yogurt starter,

but that's just.

Kinda silly.

It's just yogurt.

Yeah.

Nothing to fear about the film.

You want it?

I totally.

Really?

Yeah.

What's up with you and films?

I don't know.

I don't understand, you run a fermentation show.

No, I'm sure it's delicious.

It actually looks like cheese.

That way it liked plopped down has

that little bit of cream on the side,

it's like some type of little burratay thing.

Want a little salt?

[Priya] Yeah.

Just going for it.

It's delicious.

I'm sure it is.

Yeah a little olive oil, a little salt.

Oooo.

It'd be really good.

Hmm.

Well maybe another one will form and I'll give it a shot.

I'll give it a go.

Here I'll read the text that he sent me.

Please do.

To send to Brad.

Brad is doing a classic rejuvenation of a heritage culture

that got stressed during the voyage

across the oceans in days past.

One or two iterations and Brad would have created

his own certified Noo Yawk heritage culture.

I just want to say the New York is spelled N-O-O Y-A-W-K.

And then as a follow up, That will be the official start

of the Brad Dawg New York dahee with Texas attitude.

So he's I guess named you Brad Dawg.

Brad Dawg yeah.

As you're known, Brad Dawg.

D-A-W-G.

All right, very clever.

He's all about branding.

My dad brands all of his stuff.

Oh my god.

He has an omelet that he puts parsley, sage, rosemary,

and thyme in and he calls it his

Simon and Garfunkel tribute omelet.

Oh my god.

It must be.

No we're getting there.

Getting there.

Yay at 142.

We got time for one more story.

So yeah, so yesterday, I tried making this

and I was doing a little research online.

But I found on the one internet page,

it was like you could hold it,

it can incubate up to 130 degrees.

Yeah.

So I put it in an oven, the hydrator at 110.

You're shaking your head.

Well in turns out that it happened, so it started.

[gentle instrumental music]

It still tasted pretty good.

It was giggly

Yeah.

It was yogurt.

It just wasn't very appealing to the eye.

[gentle instrumental music]

But you know, I mean, accidents happen.

So this one will, we're getting ahead of it.

We'll just wait.

Right?

[gentle music]

The next step is adding the culture and then.

We're going to do it right in this vessel.

And this is really important according to my dad,

is stirring it for three full minutes.

[Brad] 10/26/2018

Yeah that's where my dad loves labeling things.

He loves keeping things going over time.

You really should have had him on here not me.

I really hope this works out.

Yeah, perfect.

All right, better get that timer.

Three minutes.

Three minutes.

Okay, we're going.

Do you have any siblings Priya?

I do, I have a sister.

What's her name?

Mira.

Don't stop.

Not even, don't stop at all?

After this video comes out,

my dad is going to send me a really long email

with bullet points about what we did wrong.

[Brad] That's fine.

[Priya] I'm just telling you.

Every time I do any of my other videos

he and my mom send me and email with what I did wrong.

Really?

Yeah.

Well not this time dad because we nailed it.

[Priya] Brad, why did you parents name you Brad.

I don't know, I think they had a couple options.

I think one was Brandon.

Uh-huh.

I don't know, just real like yacht clubby

kind of country club.

Which is, we grew up in the middle of nowhere,

in the woods.

But they were drawn to the country club life?

Biff, kind of I don't know, Brad.

Biff? Biff?

No I'm just saying it's that kind of caliber.

Oh okay, I was going to say you were almost Biff Leone.

Oh god, I hope, no.

Can you imagine, It's Alive with Biff?

Okay cool.

Now for the next step is the incubation, right?

Mmhmm.

Every family sort of has their own tricks,

like some families they wrap it in cloth

and put it in the garage.

Some people have a corner of their house

that's better for fermentation.

You kind of figure that over time,

but after testing in a few ovens,

I felt comfortable that oven,

with the oven light on, felt okay to me.

Oh this is my fault.

The oven light on.

I don't know why I thought pilot light.

But the thing that's interesting about yogurt is

that depending on the temperature outside.

It's okay Brad.

I know.

Sometimes, we don't read the recipe.

Now oh, question that just came to mind,

you might not know.

Yeah.

Would you want to place this by other fermenting items

or could you like cross pollinate?

I don't know.

I'm sure if you were to go deep into the...

Oh god there's a fire.

Oh god.

Let it burn man.

[Priya] Question, do you have a container with a lid?

[Brad] Why?

[Priya] Because that would be the best vessel.

I put plastic wrap over it and then just leave a little.

But do you have a container with a lid?

Why?

I feel like that's just how my dad does it.

That's what he does?

Yeah.

Like a core container?

Like he'll either do like a stainless steel container

with a lid, or like a plastic Tupperware container.

[gentle instrumental music]

All right, so now we're gonna loosely cover it.

This is very scientific.

[Brad] Yeah.

This loosely covering process.

You wanna get in here and take a look at this.

That's the kind of coverage we're looking for.

We've got 1/8 inch of a gap.

You guys want to get your notebooks out and draw a diagram.

Make sure you mimic that exactly, or it won't work.

Is this what it's always been like?

What?

At It's Alive with Brad?

What do you mean?

It's just like...

I guess you've never watched it.

No no, I have.

I watch it all the time.

Seth loves It's Alive with Brad.

Seth Meyers?

No, the other Seth.

Now what do you mean?

Uh what's all that?

That's fine, it's fine.

Like disorganized and kind off loose.

Yeah just very loose and off the cuff.

We cook like people would at their home.

It's true.

Approachable, human, educational.

Okay, and then we're gonna put this in our incubating area.

Should we take a little ride?

Now, before we get there.

Wait hold on.

You might want to cut.

We have the swap in there.

So early this morning I made one and I put it in the oven.

So there's going to be some yogurt in there already.

[gentle instrumental music]

Here, we're going to pull this one out

and we'll place our new bay-bays in here.

Yogurt making.

[Priya] Our yogurt children.

Yeah.

And this has been in there for five hours

and 29 minutes and three seconds.

[whistling]

[Priya] Should I set a timer for this one?

Ah, no.

All right, Priya, I can't handle it,

so if you could open it and take a peak.

This is nice.

This is nice?

This looks a lot like my dad's.

It smells like his too.

I kind of want to show it to my dad.

[Brad] Yeah you should.

[Priya] Hold on.

[Brad] I'm thirsty.

[Priya] Why don't you go get some water?

[Brad] All right.

[Priya] I'm gonna call my dad, see if he's on FaceTime,

he's not expecting this call,

so we'll see what state of dress he's in.

[Shailendra] Hello?

[Priya] Oh hey dad.

[Shailendra] Hey, hang on, what's up?

[Priya] I can't see you.

Oh, oh, oh, oh.

Sorry, I had you on my ear.

[Brad] Wow wow wow, are we FaceTiming Dad?

Dad, I'm with Brad.

[Shailendra] Oh, I have to put on my shirt.

He's gotta put on his shirt.

Hey dad.

Is that a mirror, is that what's going on right there?

[Priya] I actually don't know what part of.

[Brad] Right? It looks like a little bit of a reflection.

[Priya] No we don't have any mirrors

that big in our house.

[Brad] There's no mirrors Priya,

what are you guys, vampires?

[Priya] Oh no he's in the bathroom.

Okay yeah, yeah that is a mirror.

How are you?

Hi Brad.

[Brad] Hey great shirt.

Oh, thank you.

Hey what's up?

How's the yogurt coming along?

[Brad] It's coming along fantastic,

that's why we called.

I had a little mishap yesterday

because it got a little warm.

Did you make the next batch?

[Brad] Yeah.

[Priya] Yes.

[Brad] And that's what we want to show you,

because we're very proud.

[Priya] All right, take a, let me just flip it.

Priya said it looked like yours and smelled like it too.

[Shailendra] Show it to me.

Oh yeah.

Check it out.

[Shailendra] Perfect. Yeah, that's exactly it.

It's got a nice giggle.

That's exactly it, he said.

[Shailendra] Yep.

Oh, this is absolutely perfect.

Wow!

Absolutely, that's a It's Alive first.

[Shailendra] It's very forgiving, as you can see.

Right.

[Shailendra] Probably stressed the culture a little bit,

but no worries.

The starter actually has a name now,

because you've now created your own branch.

Ooo I like it.

[Shailendra] It's the Brad Dawg New York starter

or something like that.

There we go.

Well hey, thank you very much for sharing your starter

and your information.

[Shailendra] Yeah, you're welcome.

Okay, we're going to sign off, bye.

Bye.

Ah what a guy.

No this looks great, he actually said perfect,

which makes me so happy.

He said absolutely perfect.

Absolutely perfect.

I wish you guys could smell that too.

It smells really good.

It has like that attractive sourness.

My dad always said that it was yogurt

that smelled and tasted alive.

Yeah.

That was like the description.

Love this guy.

Yeah.

So what's the next move?

We gotta chill it.

Now we chill it.

Can we try it right now?

Or is that a no-no?

Uh.

Hold on, I'll get the spoons.

So obviously the answer is yes, we should try it.

Fantastic.

It's good, but like it'll get tangier when we--

Really?

When we put it in the fridge, yeah.

All right, I'm gonna go pop this in the walk-in

and I'll grab the swap-o.

Cool.

This was a ton of fun.

Priya's the best.

Her dad's the best.

Yogurt's the best.

Who puts herbs away like that?

Go ahead, what kind of sick monster?

Here's what I messed up yesterday.

A little too high a temperature.

Can you get the door?

It actually seems like it got a little better.

Oh, okay cool.

Oh.

All right, yeah.

Oh dear.

[Priya] So this yogurt looks a little bit loose

relative to the yogurt that we're used to at home.

But I bet it'll taste really good still.

Oh you just went for a whole spoonful.

Oh it tastes great.

It does taste pretty good.

My dad really has perfected it.

Like his yogurt comes out these beautiful chunks

that are so creamy.

Really, and consistent.

We have and adjective to describe my dad's dahee.

I thought it was a real word, but it's not.

My mom calls it chuck.

Chuck?

And I guess to her that just means

it's like these creamy like undulating chunks.

Like this dahee is really chuck.

I don't know, I don't know the use in any other context

besides yogurt.

It sounds like something your mom would call,

jeeze, like your dad after he did a bunch of push-ups

and didn't have a shirt on.

You're looking chuck.

Like dad's chuck.

I'm sorry. Sorry for bringing it.

A weird picture, that's fine.

The hell are you talking about?

He's making inappropriate jokes about my parents.

Oh it wasn't that bad.

I thought it was a family friendly show.

Chris right now is looking pretty chuck.

Chuck?

Chuck.

Yeah all the kids'll be saying it in two years.

[Priya] Wanna try some yogurt?

[Brad] Like it's got a nice, a decent flavor.

Oh yeah.

It's so clean.

My god.

It's like, sparkling like stainless steel.

[Priya] Yeah, exactly.

It's really, it's nice.

It like, reflects light, you know?

[Brad] Just boom.

Like the Predator.

Would you say it's Chuck.

It's Chuck.

It's definitely Chuck.

Now I get it.

[gentle instrumental music]

Hold on, I'm not in wardrobe.

Great, so, we're just waiting on the lovely Priya.

She went up to get her book

because that's what this recipe's from.

I've got it right here.

Show the world!

Or at least the people that watch this show.

You can find the recipe for dad's yogurt

and other cool hybridized Indian-American recipes

in my cookbook Indian-ish.

Which is out in April, next month.

Or by the time this comes out.

It'll be out.

Which is out now.

So it's out now.

Even better though, is my dad wrote an essay

about his yogurt that's in the book.

Called why my yogurt is fabulous.

And we took a bunch of photos of him making yogurt.

I've got a good closing line.

My dad says--

Ah ho ho a closing quote?

Yes.

Okay, gather around.

Closing quote, My yogurt is fabulous.

I have a cup a day, it keeps my system nice and regular.

What more could you want?

Not much dad.

Thanks guys and bon appetit.

[gentle music]

Nailed it.

That was a good high five.

Yeah, that was good.

I don't really do that often.

Don't do what?

High fives.

High fives.

Just seemed right.

The key is to look at the elbow.

Elbows, yeah I heard all about it.

We used to be desk mates.

Yeah, for like a week and then you dumped me.

I mean, I was moved.

It's true.

Where do you sit now?

Right near the social media team.

You're like far, far back.

I'm in the spot.

Where are you?

Me and Hunzie there,

we're if you look right down the hall in the corner,

back to the window, I got a wall.

Taking our beer.

Hittin' swells this weekend bro?

The swells are hard.

Hang loose brah.

[Brad] I love Lau.

That's our Alex Grossman impression.

R.I.P.

Damn ghost town down here.

Na bro.

[Lao] Brah.

He don't talk like that.

[Lao] Brah.

I miss Grossman.

Grossman you don't call anymore.

He never loves me.

Okay buh-bye.

[gentle music]