What gives a bit solace from this sweltering summer is chilled Bhapa Doi. A typical Bengali delicacy which has now gained popularity worldwide is nothing but an Indian cheesecake made using a combination of cooked down sweetened milk along with thick yogurt and spiced minimally.

With the festive season just around the corner, Bengal’s gift, traditional and gluten-free Indian sweet is just the perfect choice. Hailing from West Bengal and Bangladesh, the dish with the crunchy flavor of chopped pistachios or almonds sprinkled on the top is a must-have during Durga Puja.

INGREDIENTS

Servings-4

• Milk 1 cup
• Condensed Milk 400 grams
• Thick yogurt whisked 1 cup
• Almonds blanched and peeled 10
• Pistachios blanched and peeled 15
• Raisins 15
• Water 11/4 cup

The yogurt used should be thick, if the yogurt is watery or thin it would spoil the texture of the Doi when steamed.

The ingredients can be procured from ‘ The Foodhall Story’ -a place that allows you to not only buy unique, rare ingredients but also taste fresh food as you explore the store – indulging all five senses or through online stores such as Amazon, sous chef.

PREPARATION

STEP1. Beat together yogurt, milk and condensed milk until well blended. Add almonds, pistachio, nuts, and raisins. Mix well.

STEP 2. Pour the mixture into a stainless steel or metal container with tight lid.

STEP 3. Pour water into a pressure cooker. Bring it to high heat and put the container inside. bring to full pressure.

STEP 4. Remove cooker from heat. Allow cooling naturally. Open cooker and take out container. Drain off water if any. Refrigerate until serving.

STEP 5. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, alternatively you can use the double boiling method by putting the container of the liquid mixture in a deep pot half-filled with water and cook it for 35 minutes.

STEP 6.  Refrigerate Bhapa Doi for at least 1 hour before serving.

Any flavoring agent of your choice like strawberries, saffron, cardamom and rose etc can be added. The dish can be served with mango slices and dusted with rose petals powder. You can also check out the recipe video here in order to understand the steps properly.

CONCLUSION

India is a land of desserts and I really believe that there are as many varieties of sweets in India as there are people!! Diabetes hasn’t managed to make any dent the last time I checked. Though less time consuming but preparing Bhapa Doi is a technical process, it’s an either/or situation; either you will get a bowlful of Nolen Gurer Mishti Doi or you will end up having a curdled milk, flavored with date palm jaggery. There is no midway for this recipe.

Even if you don’t want to prepare this sweet at home you can still enjoy it by ordering it online using the food offers on various stores like Freshmenu, Swiggy, Foodpanda. So, when you have an option to reduce your food bill by using coupon codes then why not? So, get ready to savor the Bengal’s delicacy which proves to be a pure bliss as soon as a spoon of it goes into your mouth.

© Ruchie Verma.

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