MISHTI DOI : SWEETENED BENGALI YOGURT

You are all set to host a party and you have jotted down an impressive menu. The only problem is that, the dessert might just take a beating, as the preps and cooking for the rest of the courses is taking the better of your time. Fear not. Just whip up some Mishti Doi. No, I am not asking you to pick it from the neighborhood sweet shop. Only the lucky few in Kolkata can afford to do that. For the rest of us, its equally simple. A dessert which has minimum preps,and minimum effort. A dessert which can be prepared a day in advance, and stays quite good in the refrigerator for  a few days. 

Have doubts about how good an idea that will be? Ask anyone, just back from visiting Kolkata for the first time, what did they like the most. The answer, cutting across all diversities, will most commonly be MISHTI DOI. Needless to say, its one of the most popular desserts of Kolkata, next only in line to Roshogolla. Mishti Doi screams decadence.An absolute favorite at Bengali Weddings. Its always been a favorite of mine, so I had to get my fix at home.

My Mashi came to the rescue. Ever since, I made Kansas City, my home, I have not missed much of home cooking, as my maternal aunt, makes sure, we are a regular at her place, for so many weekends. Amongst all the feasts,she prepares for us, Mishti Doi strikes the loudest chord. So I had to ask her to share her secret with me, so in turn, I could pass it on to all those of us, who miss Mishti Doi. 

Its basically a sweetened yogurt, which has an unmistakable caramelly/reddish tinge to it. Milk is boiled, till its reduced to a creamy consistency, and then sweetened and fermented in earthen pots. Its said, that the pores of the earthen ware, help in making the yogurt creamier, by helping in losing moisture. 

But fear not, if you do not have a steady supply of earthen ware like the proprietors of sweet shops have. None of us do. So we tweak the cooking process and make it  much much easier. I can assure you, the taste does not take a beating at all. Rather than boiling the milk for hours to reduce it, and get that caramelly tint, we simply open a can of Evaporated Milk. Voila !

So whip up some Mishti Doi and dig into some rich, creamy, velvety goodness.

MISHTI DOI: 

Ingredients:
Evaporated Milk: 14 oz
Sweetened Condensed Milk: 14 oz
Plain Yogurt: 14 oz( 1 cup is equal to 8 oz)

This measurement yields 18 individual servings in cup cake liners in a muffin pan.

For a serving the size shown in the pic, just double the ingredients.

Procedure: 

Pre-heat the oven to 350F.

Crank open the cans.

In a large mixing bowl, mix in the evaporated milk, condensed milk and plain yogurt.

Whisk away with a wire whisk, till there are no lumps.

Select any baking dish of your choice, and pour away the mixture.

Bake at 350F for exactly 15 minutes and then turn off the oven.

Let the baking dish stay in the oven for at least 6 to 7 hours. I usually bake it just before going to bed, and turn off the oven, and let it cool down and ferment overnight.

Remove the set yogurt form the oven in the morning and put it inside the refrigerator.

Serve cold.

If you want individual servings, then use cup cake liners, in a muffin pan, and pour equal amounts of the mixture and bake. I had done it recently and it was a big hit at a potluck. But forgot to take pictures. 

Bon Appetit !!