A Luscious Bengali Cheesecake: Bhapa Doi

(Adapted from Bhapa Doi Recipe on Allrecipes.co.in and Bhapa Doi: Steamed Sweet Yoghurt on PreeOccupied)

Bengalis love doi (curd) in all forms. Whether its the plain unsweetened doi/dahi or the gorgeous coffee colored mishti doi..its doi all the way! Dahi also forms an integral part of the Bengali cuisine because many dishes require dahi as a major ingredient such as Doi Maach. After every lip-smacking Sunday meal, the true-blue Bong will look forward to a small pot of chilled mishti doi in summers. Last year, both my dad and my hubby had boycotted me because I forgot to arrange for mishti doi for the special Jamai Shoshti meal!

This time the Kolkata Food Bloggers had come up with the interesting event for Poila Boisakh (the Bengali New Year's day). The challenge was to cook a typical Bengali dish, but the catch was that it had to be vegetarian. This is truly a challenge for me, because most of my favorite dishes fall into the non-veg category. I was at the verge of tearing my hair when hubby-man suggested that I should try to make Bhapa Doi (bh-aaa-paaa do-ee) for this event. And Bhapa Doi it is! :)

I got two wonderful recipes from here and here. My recipe is a mix and match of both.


Here is how I made it:

Ingredients:

Dahi/Doi/Yoghurt: 1 cup (plain unsweetened)

Milk: 1 cup (I used full cream.)

Condensed milk: 1 tin

Green cardamom: 2 pods (powdered)

For decoration:

Raisins: A handful

Pistachios: 5-6 (chopped)

Tutti-Fruti: 1 tablespoon (optional)

Process:

1. Beat the curd well till there are no lumps. The curd should be thick. If you feel that the curd is watery, hang it up in a muslin cloth for two hours to get rid of the whey.

2. Add milk and condensed milk. Beat the mixture well. Add the powdered green cardamom. (I did not add green cardamom because I did not have it around.)

3. Pour the mixture into six ramekins.

4. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 190 degrees C. 

5. Place the ramekins on a baking tray. Pour scalding hot water in the tray taking care that the water should not spill into the ramekins. (Its very important to use hot water. If you use cold water, your cooking time will increase.)The tray should be 3/4th filled with hot water.

6. Bake at 190 degrees C for 35 minutes. When the bhapa doi inside the ramekins appears set, take it out of the oven. In case the mixture is not set, bake for 10 more minutes. Cool to room temperature. Chill in the fridge for 2 hours. For best results refrigerate overnight. And this recipe does not require gelatin or agar-agar. Once you refrigerate the ramekins adequately, you can de-mold without any crumbling.
You can also make bhapa doi in the pressure cooker. Just steam the mixture in a tight fitted steel container with lid. Steam without the weight for nearly 20-25 minutes. You can also steam the mixture in a steamer for 35 minutes on the gas.

7. Serve chilled topped with some more raisins or tutti fruti. You also also top with mango slices.

Enjoy!

I am sending this recipe for the ongoing event at the Kolkata Food Bloggers "Poila Boishakh with Veg Bengali Dishes".