Mishti Doi recipe: Treat the family on Eid Al-Adha
Make your own Mishti Doi desert to celebrate Eid Al-Adha, a time for feasting and showing your home cooking skills.
Eid Al-Adha is the second Eid of the calendar. Eid-ul-Fitr is the one following the month of Ramadan while this Eid follows the completion of the annual pilgrimage called Jajj (if you can do it), and is a time for sacrifice (Qurbani) and making donations.
Generally, the day is spent with family and loved ones – be prepared for lots of food. You will find chicken Biryani on most tables and also Mishti Doi, a family favourite for dessert. It can be bought from South-Asian sweet stores across Tower Hamlets but if you want to be a little different this year, instead of going to the local stores and buying the pre-made Mishti Doi (typically sold and served in terracotta bowls), you could buy the ingredients from there instead.
The traditional Bengali dessert is a delicacy consisting of a sweetened yoghurt/curd. It’s one of the easiest desserts to make with just two key ingredients: jaggery (alternatives are sugar or condensed milk) and curd or yoghurt.
Using jaggery is the more traditional way, and it should be available at your local South-Asian sweet store but you can use sugar or condensed milk instead.
Mishti Doi ingredients and method
You’ll need:
3 cups milk
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon of curd (or yoghurt)
1 tablespoon water
To begin making the Mishti Doi Recipe, place a heavy bottom pan on the heat. Add the milk and warm it on a medium heat.
Reserve a third of the sugar and add the remaining sugar to the milk. Allow it to dissolve while the milk comes to a boil.
Turn the heat down and allow the milk to continue boiling until it reduces by half. Then, take it off the heat and set aside.
In another pan, add the reserved sugar and place the pan on the heat. Keeping low-medium heat, allow the sugar to warm and melt, and you will notice it gradually changes colour to brown and starts caramelizing!
When the sugar is a light golden bubbly mixture, remove from heat and add a tablespoon of water to the caramelized sugar and pour it into the reduced milk. Stir well until combined.
Let the milk cool slightly. Then add the whisked yoghurt, stir well and pour the mixture into earthen pots for that nostalgic feeling. Or, of course, your normal bowls.
Let the doi set in a warm place for a few hours. When set, store the Mishti Doi in the refrigerator and serve chilled.
Enjoy and Eid Mubarak.
