Kesari Bhapa Doi | Steamed Saffron Yogurt with just 4 Ingredients

Recipe for Kesari Bhapa Doi | Steamed Saffron Yogurt – a 4 ingredient dessert recipe

I must have some kind of soul-connection with Kolkata. My dad and his family spent quite a few years in Calcutta (because that’s what it was called then) and my parents spent their first year as a couple here. My dad was quite fluent in Bengali.

My grand aunt, Meena Chithi, who would patiently play endless games of scrabble with me, also spent many decades here with her family. My first visit to Calcutta was as a 10 year old. For someone who had spent my entire childhood in Bombay, it was a completely different city experience. The singhada vendors on their cycles, the mishti shops lining the street near my grand aunt’s place in Tollygunge, the excitement of shopping on Rash Behari avenue and my mum taking me to the colony where she started her newly married life made for a very memorable summer holiday.

Although I don’t have a very pronounced sweet tooth, Bengali sweets have always made me go weak in the knees. They break all my no-sugar resolve in one fell swoop.

Rosogulla, sondesh, bhapa doi, chenna payesh, I love them all and with all my heart. Mishti for the soul indeed!

So when I set out to develop festive recipes for Kesari Saffron, I simply had to include some Bengali recipes. This is the third in the series of Saffron recipes for Diwali 2016 that I’m sharing with you, from a booklet I worked for the brand Kesari Saffron. I have used pure saffron powder in this recipe, but you can replace it with a few strands of saffron toasted on a very gentle heat and powdered using a tiny mortar-pestle.

Bhapa doi is a genius of a Bengali sweet, the recipe requiring hardly any effort. It turns out creamy and thick, something that will make you lick the spoon and savour it at a leisurely pace. The addition of saffron gives it a unique flavour and a colour that suits the festive season. Make sure you use whole milk here, skimmed milk has no business to hang around in this recipe 🙂

✨ Diwali tip: Prepare them in kulhads and tie them with a golden string to give a festive touch to the presentation. ✨

Kesar Bhapa Doi | Steamed Saffron Yogurt

This 4 ingredient dessert from Bengal is sure to have you licking the spoon this festive season. Super easy to prepare, this dessert is a must try!

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Total Time 6 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Servings: 6 serving

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 1 cup yogurt hung
• xbe cup milk whole
• xbd cup condensed milk
• xbd saffron sachet powder
• strands saffron of Few for garnish

Method

 

1. Set a steamer with 2-3 inches of water. Cover and allow the water to come to a boil. Keep 4-6 small earthen pots (100-150 ml) or kulhads ready along with 4 squares of aluminium foil to cover them later.
2. Meanwhile prepare the bhapa doi mixture.
3. In a large bowl, whisk the hung yogurt until smooth. Add the whole milk and condensed milk and whisk until you get a smooth mixture.
4. Sprinkle saffron powder and whisk till the mixture is uniformly golden coloured.
5. Divide this equally between 4-6 pots. Seal this well with squares of aluminium foil.
6. Place in steamer carefully. Cover the steamer with a lid and steam for 20 minutes. When done, the bhapa doi with be set like a pudding.
7. Garnish with 1-2 strands of saffron and refrigerate this for 3-4 hours or overnight.

Notes

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Other Saffron Recipes for Diwali 2016