This past week, I have been celebrating various holidays on the Hindu calendar. So far I have celebrated Durga Puja, and on Friday, we celebrate Lakshmi Puja. I am so excited to have the family get together and celebrate, but I’m more excited for the Mishti Doi – a sweet curd. As long as I can remember, whether or not we celebrate holidays at home or elsewhere there has always been Mishti Doi. It’s practically compulsory to serve it now at this point. It’s such a classic Bengali dish made of sugar, palm jaggery, curd culture and, you guessed it, milk.

In Bengali, “mishti” means “sweet” and “doi” means “yoghurt” or “curd”, which makes the dish simple enough in its own way. Not only that, but it’s extremely simple to make as well- from what I have seen my mother do. The only thing different though is the fact that the milk is thickened. Another thing is that you should wait until the dish ferments before adding any toppings. Normally, my family adds crushed green cardamom for a nice aroma and for the slight savory taste. 

In a circular, deep cooking pot, first, boil one liter of milk; full-fat milk. There is absolutely no way for me to escape this recipe using a substitute. Keep the flame on medium-low heat and consistently stir until the milk comes to a boil. Let the milk simmer while you stir (still constantly) while scraping the sides and mixing it into it; this will reduce the milk. When the milk reduces to ½ of its volume, let the pot cool down for about 10 minutes. During this time, scrape the dried milk from the sides into the milk.

While the milk cools, finely chop ¾ cup of palm jaggery. After 10 minutes- which is when the milk should have stopped cooling, add the jaggery to the milk. Thereafter, mix until all the jaggery is dissolved. After that, my mom likes to add ½ teaspoon of cardamom powder and stir it into the milk until it is warm. Next, add 2 tablespoons of curd and whisk it well into the milk. It should dissolve, and when it does, let the doi set. Set into any small serving bowl and cover with aluminum foil. 

Once you keep it in a warm place for 24 hours, let it slightly harden in the refrigerator, and it’s ready to eat!