Bengali Sweet Curd

  Combine whole milk and 1 cup sugar, and boil in a pan until half of the total quantity is absorbed.

  In the meantime, make the caramel by heating 2 tablespoons of sugar and a few drops of water in another small pan and boiling till the sugar dissolves and turns a golden brown color.

  Stir caramel into milk until it dissolves. Boil, then turn off, and let it cool to room temperature.

  Now take the hung curd in a bowl, and whisk the curd for some time till it becomes smooth like cream.

  Add the sweetened, lukewarm caramel milk slowly into the curd and mix everything thoroughly and evenly.

  Then pour the misti doi mixture into the earthen pot and cover it with aluminum foil, paper, or a plate. If you don’t have an earthen pot, then you can use a glass utensil. But try to make misti doi in an earthen pot only; it gives a nice earthen flavor to your misti doi.

  Take a towel, place the pot in the center of the towel, and wrap the pot very well with the towel. Put the towel wrapped pot in a dark place in the kitchen, undisturbed, for overnight to set.

  The duration of setting the mishti doi depends on the climate of your place. If you stay in a hot place and you are preparing mishti doi in the summer, then it gets set within 8 hours. In winter or cold places, it may take 10–12 hours to get set.

  Misti Doi always takes longer to set than normal yogurt. So don’t be afraid.

  Enjoy or keep inside the fridge for chilled doi, tastes better, actually.