Of uncertain origins

I had a dilemma on my hands recently: a half gallon of 2% lactose-free organic milk lay languishing in my refrigerator. It's more expensive than regular milk and I did not want to see it go waste. I tried lacing my tea with it, only to have mugfuls of tea remain unfinished and untouched. Given how I felt about it, there was no question of getting help from the other two members of my family.

Yogurt seemed like the only solution but I wasn't sure that I could make yogurt from lactose-free milk. I reasoned that since the lactose in this milk has already been broken down into its constituent glucose and galactose—something that the lactobacilli does, in the yogurt-making process—it seemed like it would be a worth a try, at the very least. Then I found this post, Homemade Yogurt with Lactose-free Milk, which confirmed my train of thought.

But, what if the yogurt was as powdery as the milk? I needed something to mask that distasteful quality about lactose-free milk. Then I remembered how delighted I was last December when Anita had yanked me into a teeny little shop in Chandni Chowk that sold Bengali mithai. There was barely enough room for all of us to stand. Little earthenware kulhads were handed to us, filled with creamy thick sweetened yogurt. Yes! I had finally tasted mishti doi.

is that look telling or what?

Medha, I recalled, had not been much enamored by mishti doi. Well, everything doesn't have to be about her or for her. Was this a bad-mother moment?!

Naturally the first thing I did was hit up the authority on Bengali food, Bong Mom's Cookbook, for recipes and instead found a recipe for bhapa doi or steamed sweetened yogurt and a seed was sowed. Not one to give up, I finally found a recipe for mishti doi and the seed became a sapling that showed great promise when I saw that the recipe called for caramelized sugar.

Medha is a fan of burnt sugar. She's crazy about flan and is a sucker for crème brûlée. It was time to atone for that bad-mother moment!

these white babies were begging to be filled up

Faux Mishti Doi

mishti doi, in the evening glow

• 3 cups milk, (2% fat or more)
• 1 tbsp sugar, to add to milk (or more, to taste)
• 2 tbsp sugar, to caramelize
• 2 cardamom pods
• 2 tbsp yogurt, with live cultures

not as thick or creamy

1. Bring milk to a boil over medium to low flame, stirring occasionally. Skim off any skin that may form on the surface. Lower the heat and allow milk to simmer.
2. Lightly bruise the cardamom pods and add to the milk, along with the sugar. 
3. Simmer until the quantity is reduced to about half the original quantity, stirring frequently to prevent the milk from boiling over. Taste the milk and if you want it sweeter, add more sugar at this point.
4. Take it off the stove and cool until it is warm, approximately 110F or thereabouts.
5. Lay out little bowls or shot glasses to line with caramelized sugar.
6. Combine 2 tbsp sugar with 1/2 tbsp water in a small saucepan and cook over medium-high heat until the sugar begins to melt. 
7. Do not stir with a spoon and instead swirl the pan over the heat until the syrup darkens to a medium amber color, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and quickly pour a small amount into each little bowl, swirling it so that the bottom is evenly coated, as well as a little bit up the sides.
8. Once the sweetened, thickened milk has cooled, strain it and only then, blend in the yogurt.
9. Pour into the little bowls, cover and set them aside in a warm place to set. If you live in cooler climes, pre-heat your oven to about 150F, turn it off and only then place in the oven. Turn on your oven light to help maintain warmth.
10. The yogurt should set within 6-8 hours or overnight.
11. Once set, refrigerate and serve chilled with some crushed nuts, if you like.

it was a huge hit

Notes:

1. As you can see, the texture of my faux mishti doi was not as thick or creamy as the real thing. But that did not make a difference to its intended audience. Medha absolutely loved it. For a creamier mishti doi, use full-fat milk. 
2. You can mix the caramelized sugar into the milk instead of attempting a flan-like mishti doi, as suggested in the original recipe. The advantage of not mixing it in is that the mishti doi is not cloyingly sweet. The original recipe had a total of 8 tablespoons of sugar to a liter of milk (approximately one quart or 4 cups) whereas I used only 3 tablespoons in 3 cups of milk. You may want to use more sugar. Lactose-free milk tastes a lot sweeter than regular milk so I used less sugar to begin with and it was just right for us.
3. I normally use a lot less yogurt culture if the culture had been home-grown and, therefore, more potent. Since I used store-bought yogurt, I used a lot more. Adjust this amount based on your yogurt culture.

mishti doi and unmolded bhapa doi

I did not stop there. I had to find out whether this faux flan-like mishti doi could be made into bhapa doi.

Faux Bhapa Doi

flan-like bhapa doi

• mishti doi, as described above
• a water bath or tray filled with warm water

1. Heat oven to 350F
2. Place bowls of mishti doi in the water bath such that the water is at the very most up to 2/3rds the height of the bowls.
3. Bake for 40 minutes or until the edges start turning brown. 
4. Remove from oven and allow to cool. It will be a little jiggly when hot.
5. Chill in the refrigerator to at least 2-3 hours. 
6. Just before serving, run a knife along the edge and turn over on a plate to unmold. They do not unmold as cleanly or as easily as flan.

creamier and thicker

The first bite is a little bit of a shock. It looks like flan but tastes completely different. It's tangy and its texture is not as smooth as flan. But it is delicious. Is this bhapa doi? I don't know. I have never eaten bhapa doi but whatever this is, it's fabulous! Unfortunately, Medha was not a fan and preferred the uncooked mishti doi whereas both D and I felt this was the real winner.

definitely a keeper

It was a good thing I made this in small bowls as the serving size was just right for us! One thing is for sure, I am making this again and again, with one difference: I will use regular milk!