Bhapa Doi ~ Misti Doi ~Sweet Steam Yogurt ~ Bengali delicacy

 

This space has been silent for a few days. Even though I have a number of recipes in my drafts to be shared, I could not bring myself to compose a post. Plain lazy, I have been. Today's recipe comes from Miss Masala- a Cookbook by Mallika Basu. I had reviewed it a few days back after trying a couple of recipes from it.

Bhapa Doi/Misti Doi is a popular Bengali delicacy. It is basically steam sweet yogurt and it often called the Indian cheese cake because of its texture. The traditional recipe can be quite time consuming at it involves thickening the milk by slowly cooking it, setting the yoghurt and then steaming it. Mallika however provides us with a quicker recipe. You will be amazed by the simplicity of the recipe.

Serves 4-6

2 green cardamom pounded
10-12 strands of saffron
1 tbsp whole milk
250 g low fat yogurt
200 ml sweetened condensed milk


Process:
1. Preheat the oven at 190 C
2. Soak the saffron in the milk. Powder the cardamom finely.
3. Beat the yogurt and condensed milk together until smooth and add the powdered cardamom.
4. Fill this mixture into ramekins or a baking dish. Place them in a large baking tray. Fill the tray with enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins or dish. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes.
5. Spoon the saffron mixture over  it and bake it for another 5 minutes. If you are using a large baking dish, it may take longer. The yogurt mixture should appear set. Cool to room temperature and then refrigerate. Serve chilled. Once it is chilled, it sets a little more.

Note: I had over baked it by 10 minutes then what is stated above and the result was nice and firm set yogurt. If you want it less firm, change the baking time accordingly. None the less it will taste good.

I am leaving you with links of this delicacy posted on other food blogs:

Bhapa Doi @ Bong Moms Cookbook

Misti Doi @ Cook Like A Bong

Bhapa Doi @ Indian Food Rocks

Misti Doi @ VeggiBelly

I will be up with a quick kulfi recipe I had tried from Mallika Basu's Book - Quick Indian Cooking, next. Stay tuned. Thank you for stopping by! Cheers!

Dulce de Leche Malai Kulfi

If you do not know what 'dulce de leche' is, then the title of this post may sound a bit intimidating. But, let me assure you this is one of the easiest recipes and quick recipes and once you try this one, I am sure you will make it again. I must add a word of caution here, it can get really addictive.


Dulce de leche is just 'cooked' condensed milk. I had made it for these Banoffee pots and I used the leftover dulce de leche for making these kulfis. I am a big kulfi fan and can have them at any time and of course, weather doesn't count. I can be wearing sweaters and be tucked under a blanket and still can gobble down a whole lot of them. You can find the other kulfi recipes I have posted, here.


Refer to this post to see how I made dulce de leche. If you are apprehensive about trying it that way then read this post by aquadaze where she has described a number of ways to make it, including one in microwave. Sure, that would be a time saver and will come in handy. But, I have discovered something better. On searching a bit more about in google I found that Nestle Caramel is nothing but dulce de leche. I had searched for it in the grocery store and had taken for granted that it would be selling under its original name. So, the next time I have a serious urge to make these kulfis, a trip to the super market will help me a lot. Stocking them up at home can be dangerous!

Click here for the printable version
Ingredients:


180ml dulce de leche
120 ml double cream or fresh cream
120 ml milk, I used low fat.


Yields 6-8 kulfis depending on the size of the molds.


Process:


1. Add all the ingredients in a mixer jar and whiz for a few seconds.
2. Pour into kulfi molds and freeze over night.
3. Allow the molds to remain outside the refrigerator for 5 minutes and then un mold it or run hot water over the kulfi molds to un mold it even quickly. Enjoy!

To sum up in a word, they were just 'AWESOME'. I already have my favorite recipe of the year! Do try it out!

Thank you for stopping by! Cheers!

Guilt free Dessert ~ Blueberry Fool

When you think dessert, generally a calorie rich dish comes to mind. Well, think again! These blueberry fools are actually low fat and still lusciously creamy and indulgent.

I received Rachel Allen's Easy Meals as a gift this Christmas and as I was browsing the book, I came across a very simple dessert named Apple Fool. Rachel chronicles that it may be because it is so simple that any fool can make it. Then she adds on that the word fool is derived from the word fouler, meaning to crush or press. While the original recipe from the book had double cream in it, I substituted it with low fat hung curd and instead of apples, I used blueberries.

A very healthy and simple dessert which any one can make. Linking it to my event Healthy and Hearty

 and to Any One Can Cook Series by Taste of Pearl City

 

Ingredients:
500gm low fat yogurt.
2-3 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla essence.
2/3 cup fresh or frozen bluberries
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp lemon zest
2 tbsp sugar.
Click here for the printable version

 Process:

1. Line a muslin cloth over a sieve and place it over a large bowl. Pour the yogurt over the muslin cloth and let it hang in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours or over night. The yogurt will reduce into half its original volume.

2. Add blueberries, sugar , lemon juice and zest in a pan and heat it till it bubbles and blueberries and soft and leaves out it juice. Remove from heat and let it cool completely. Our blueberry compote is ready.

3. In another bowl mix the hung yogurt, vanilla and sugar. In 2 serving glasses pour the yogurt mixture and blueberry mixture alternately till used. The layers need not be perfect, rather it should give a zigzag pattern.
Keep it in refrigerator till needed. Serve cold. Enjoy!

Note: You can substitute the blueberry with any kind of berries, cherries or even substitute the berry compote with pureed fruit like mango, pear etc.

Thank you for stopping by! Cheers!

Banoffee Pots ~ For Sweet Punch

For January Sweet Punch Divya chose a gorgeous, sinful, decadent 'Banoffee Pie' recipe from Swapna's Cuisine. I was in a dilemma, whether to go for it or not. There were a couple of reasons. Banoffee Pie is anything but healthy, it is loaded with calories and calories and calories! But, it is definitely outrageously DELICIOUS, so much so that all your resolutions to eat healthy will go behind closed doors. Another reason was my DH loves banana as a fruit but not anything with bananas in it. So, cooking this only for myself didn't seem to be a very good idea (I nearly fainted when I stood on my bathroom scale last time. Sigh! Old story!).

Still, I went ahead and made it as making dulce de leche had been high on my 'to make list' and to justify it to myself I made them as trifles (small serving, so less calories). I made only 2 servings and the rest of dulce de leche is making something else. I will come up with that later.

First thing first: How to make dulce de leche?

It is nothing but cooked condensed milk. I went for the conventional method as suggested in the recipe. 

Put the can of condensed milk, unopened, in a large pan, cover with water, bring to boiling point and boil for 2 hours on medium heat. Top it with boiling water from a kettle as needed. The can SHOULD remain covered in water, otherwise there is a risk of the can bursting open. Remove and leave to cool completely. If you cook it for longer, it will have a darker color than that shown in the picture below.

 

This is how I made the Banoffee Pots/Trifles:

Click here for printable version

Ingredients:

3-4 rich tea biscuits powdered

1 tbsp butter

80 ml dulce de leche

1 banana, peeled and sliced

80 ml whipped cream sweetened to taste

Cocoa powder for dusting.

Process:

1. Mix the butter and the powdered biscuit and divide it into the two serving glass. Press it to form a layer. 

2. Pour dulce de leche into each glass equally forming a layer followed by banana slices and them top it up with whipped cream. Dust it with cocoa powder. Keep it in the fridge for an hour before serving.

Pineapple Chunk & Cardamom Cake (Eggless)

The recipe for today's post comes from my drafts. I had made it quite sometimes back and since then it had just been sitting in my drafts. I have made this one quite many times, mainly when I have some left over canned pineapples. If you love pineapples it will surely appeal to you. Adding cardamom adds an Indian flavour to it but if you do not like it, you can leave it out all together and you will have a pineapple chunk cake.

This recipe is adapted from Manjulas Kitchen. I have just tweaked the amount of butter and juice. It worked well and the cake was rich and moist. Instead of butter you can use equal amount of oil plus a little more pineapple juice.These pictures have not been able to capture the moistness and texture. I will update the post with better pictures next time I bake it. As for now, hop off to the recipe!

Ingredients:

1 1/4cup AP Flour.
1/4 cup butter,soft at room temperature.
3/4 cup condensed milk.
5 rings of canned pineapple cut into chunks.
3/4 cup of pineapple juice (from the pineapple can).
1 tsp baking powder.
1/2 tsp baking soda.
3 cardamom pod seeds powdered finely.

Process:

1.Take a deep bowl or container and put soft butter in it. Add condensed milk to it and whip it nicely with a wooden spoon or a hand mixer till it is light and well incorporated.

2. In a separate bowl add AP flour, baking powder, baking soda and powdered cardamom and shift.

3. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture little by little stirring all the time.Add the pineapple juice little by little and whisk for another 5 minutes till it is mixed properly. Add a little more if needed. Add the pineapple chunks and fold it in the mixture.

4.Keep a cake tin greased with butter and dusted with flour ready before starting to make the cake batter. Pour the cake batter into it. Insert the cake pan into an oven preheated at 180 degree C. Bake the cake at 170 degree C for 40mins.

5. Using a skewer or knife check if the cake is done. Prick the skewer into the cake, if it comes out clear then the cake is ready.

6. Take the container out of the oven and let it cool for 10 mins. Take the cake out on a plate by turning the container upside down.

This pineapple cake is very moist and it tastes best when served cold.

Thank you for stopping by! Cheers!