Mishti Doi is a West Bengal specialty, it's not made in other parts of the country. For us, not a festival or a get-together goes without Mishti Doi. Every traditional Bengali meal will end with this delightful sweet yogurt. In West Bengal, every community has several sweet-shops where you can get a wide variety of sweets to take with you when visiting friends and family, like Americans will carry a good bottle of vino. Eating sweets is very entrenched in the Bengali tradition, we mark every occasion with sweets. Some of these local sweet-shops are very renowned brands, specializing in particular variety of sweets, and people stand in long lines to secure the fresh sweets every day. Bengalis are also very fond of adda (chatting) and debating, especially when it is a matter of local pride. You only have to mention that the rossogulla or mishti doi of one neighborhood is better than the other, a whole three-hour debate might ensue, along with copious consumption of the said item.
Traditionally, misthi doi is made from non-homogenized pure milk, which is first gently boiled to evaporate about half of the volume. Then, sugar or gur (molasses) is added. The sweet milk is then poured into earthen terracotta pots mixed with a spoonful of live yogurt culture, and then left overnight to 'set'. A thick layer of cream forms at the top, and under that layer is the soft delicious sweet yogurt - Mishti Doi. Every sweet-shop owner had his/her special method of making Mishti Doi. Some add a bit of cardamom, some add a particular kind of gur, some have the sugar melted and caramelized,.... many recipes.
1 can Evaporated Milk
1 can Condensed Milk
1/2 cup plain yogurt
Saffron threads (optional, for decoration only)
Traditionally, misthi doi is made from non-homogenized pure milk, which is first gently boiled to evaporate about half of the volume. Then, sugar or gur (molasses) is added. The sweet milk is then poured into earthen terracotta pots mixed with a spoonful of live yogurt culture, and then left overnight to 'set'. A thick layer of cream forms at the top, and under that layer is the soft delicious sweet yogurt - Mishti Doi. Every sweet-shop owner had his/her special method of making Mishti Doi. Some add a bit of cardamom, some add a particular kind of gur, some have the sugar melted and caramelized,.... many recipes.
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| Misthi Doi |
1 can Evaporated Milk
1 can Condensed Milk
1/2 cup plain yogurt
Saffron threads (optional, for decoration only)
- Mix the condensed milk, evaporated milk, and plain yogurt very well so that there are absolutely no clumps of yogurt.
- Get oven preheated to 300 deg F.
- Pour the mixture into an oven proof casserole. Put in oven.
- Keep in oven for about 1 hour. Please check occasionally, you do not want the milk spilling over or caramelizing too much, i.e. going brown. You are looking for the yogurt to just about set. You will see bubbles forming.
- Turn off oven and let yogurt to cool in oven.
- Once cool, transfer to the refrigerator to chill.
- Serve cold with few saffron threads, or crushed pistachios.
This recipe is 'cheating', I know. But the taste of the Mishti Doi is really good. It does not have the subtle terracotta aroma, nor the thick cream layer on top. Well, for us NRIs (Non Resident Indians), this version of Mishti Doi will have to do until we make our next trip to Kolkata and savor the 'real thing'!
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