Easy Peasy Mishti Doi

Mishti Doi brings back fond childhood memories of my holidays in Kolkatta. I have had a big sweet tooth ever since I was a kid, but my fondness for Bengali sweets has more to do with the sweet memories I share with my doting Naani (maternal grandmother).  I was the only kid in the house back then, so she pampered me to bits and pieces. She’d be my friend and play board games  with me like Ludo and snakes and ladders (do these names ring a bell?) and then playing cards, she’d intentionally loose many times just to make me happy. She’d take me shopping, be my “tik tik ghoda” and give me luxurious at-home-spa treatments! And then she would make sure I had some dessert for all four meals of the day, mind it there would be at least five varieties of sweets in the house so I had an option to choose from! Yes, when you are on a summer vacation at you grandparents’, you eat a lot, the chubbier you are by the end of the vacation would somehow be directly proportional to their love ;), that is just a tradition at our house! Naanijee, I love you with all my heart! Happy mothers day.

Getting back to mishit doi, it is an all time favorite Bengali sweet of mine. I used to have it with lunch every day without fail whenever I was in Kolkatta. Mishti doi screams decadence, it is rich, creamy and full of velvety goodness.  I finally got my fix at it, and this recipe is so simple. I never thought I could prepare mishti doi in such a jiffy with bare minimum efforts !

Ingredients:

2 cups plain greek yogurt
1 (14-ounce) can Dulce de leche (condensed milk)

1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk

2 tblsp brown sugar (optional)

2 tbsp Rose water

Saffron, thinly sliced pistachios and almonds - optional

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven 425 degree F.

2. Whisk the Greek yoghurt and brown sugar until smooth.

3.  Add condensedmilk and mix well.

4. Stir in evaporated milk. Blend it in with the mixture but do not beat.

5. Pour the mixture in any baking dish of your choice. Sprinkle some saffron strands and sliced nuts on top (optional). Cover it with aluminum foil.

6. Turn off the oven. Put the baking dish/ bowls/ yoghurt cups inside the oven.

7. Do not touch the baking dish; let it sit in the oven for 6-7 hours.

8. Remove the set yoghurt from oven and refrigerate it for 3-4 hours before serving.

Serve cold.  

Notes :

• Greek yogurt can be replaced by strained yogurt.
• If canned evaporated milk is not available you can easily make it at home. As the name suggests evaporated milk is just fresh milk with some water removed (evaporated). All you have to do is boil milk to half its volume. 
• Dulce de leche can easily be made using condensed milk. Just simmer condensed milk can on the stove for 2-3 hours, make sure that the can s submerged in water throughout the process. Open the can only after it has cooled completely. I like the flavor of dulce de leche better than condensed milk, imparts a very rich taste and creamier texture.