Any homemade yogurt is blissful but a jar of lightly sweet yogurt with seasonal fruits and chopped nuts can brighten up any morning or finish up a day with a delectable note. I have blogged about Kolkata’s most famous red hued “mishti doi” but this post is not about that.
Ma used to take me to her native home in rural Bengal (a very small town in Midnapore) during summer and fall breaks and my granny always ordered this lightly sweet yogurt, some potato fritters for breakfast every single day we spent there.
No granny never made it but a local sweet store is quite famous for this white “mishti doi” in the entire region. I loved this yogurt more than Kolkata’s red hued “mishti doi” as the sweetness level of this yogurt is much less. I used to eagerly wait for this yogurt and our trip to ma’s parental home.
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[/ezcol_1half_end]It’s been a decade since I had this sweet yogurt as granny visits us often and I was always preoccupied with my studies before coming here. But that sweet yogurt was always in my memory.
My husband is an ardent yogurt lover (like any other American) and I should be making homemade yogurt more often as we spend quite a lot every week on yogurt. But I have 999 other things going on so I rarely remember to make yogurt. This week while browsing through a food group and after speaking with a friend of mine, I thought of preparing this yogurt.
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[/ezcol_1half_end]Ma and granny prepares homemade yogurt quite a lot, unlike me.
But when I asked her the recipe, she rang up the owner of that sweet store and learnt the recipe. If it was a sweet store in Kolkata, we would have never got it. So this post is dedicated to that sweet store owner who helped me to have a taste of my childhood sitting thousands of mile far.
Before giving me the recipe, she tried this recipe with a small batch and it was a success.
But she and I live in two different worlds. Kolkata is getting it’s summer season (94 F) while Boston is still freezing (37F). So this yogurt took her 4 hours to settle, while it took me 20 hours. Also she prepared this yogurt in a regular room when I had to prepare this inside a closed oven.
Anyhow, the homemade sweet yogurt turned out delectable. We loved it and my husband pretty much finished the half of that blue container in last 6 hours. He is having it as breakfast and dessert with some seasonal berries. I am lactose intolerant and I got one migraine attack after having 1 bowl, but I will still have it. I can take a couple of advils for this utterly delicious bowl of sweet yogurt and fruits memory.
Recipe for homemade yogurt (sweet)
No oven is required for hotter climate (over 70F). For colder days you need a warm environment for yogurt. You can warm the oven up to 140F before placing the container inside the oven. But switch off the oven before placing the container. After placing the container, cover it well with some clean unused bath towels. It can take between 4 to 20 hours to settle. Don’t take it out if it’s wobbly, let it settle completely before freezing. Alternatively you can turn the oven light on the whole time which can maintain a steady temperature of 70F inside the oven. Using a oven thermometer is recommend.
Use a container with a fitted lid on, but if you’re using pyrex don’t close the lid tightly. I have used a dutch oven but any soup pot or saucepan with lid works for this.
1/2 gallon whole milk
1 1/4 cup (300 gram) granulated sugar
1/4 cup milk powder
3/4 cup (125 gram) plain greek yogurt
1. In a soup pot, bring the milk to rolling boil. Lower the temperature to medium-high and boil it for 5 minutes. Add sugar and boil it over medium heat stirring often for about 20 to 22 minutes, or until it reduces to 60% of the original amount.
2. In a bowl, add milk powder.Take a couple of spoonful of hot milk, and add that to the milk powder. With a spoon, mix it thorughly or until there is no lump in the liquid.
3. Add this thick milk mixture to the hot milk and continue to boil for an another 5 minutes. Take it aside. With a measuring cup take some milk and pour it back. Continue doing so until the temperature of the milk dips down between 105-115 F (You can insert a clean finger and keep it for a while) or lukewarm.
4. Add yogurt and keep stirring with the measuring cup or until it’s thoroughly combined. Transfer it to a 4 quart dutch oven and transfer it to a warm oven. Cover it with two clean unused thick towels and close the oven. Depending on the temperature of the oven it can take somewhere between 4 hours to over night. Take it out when it’s completely settled, transfer it to a refrigerator and serve chilled. Garnish with some fruits and serve chilled.
Wow! great pics and nothing like homemade yogurt.. Love it
That is a such a simple, yet decadent treat. Kudos to Bengalis for coming up with so many dairy based sweets.
Amazing clicks and the sweetned yogurt sounds absolutely delicious.
I love the way this sweet yogurt looks… the milk powder would give it a nice angel… will try this…
Oh what amazing clicks Dol. I always make yogurt at home…and the days we have full Indian meals, we end the feast with homemade sweetned yogurt… ah bliss ! 😀
Perfection! It was really nice of that sweet shop owner to share his recipe with you guys.
I love that you made your own yoghurt, i have only ever made creme fraiche before and it tasted amazing.. so I definitely am inspired to try this!
I never made creme fraiche , can you teach me how?
I love your photos…They are lovely.
Is the milk powder just regular whole milk powder or something unique? Can I find this at my local grocery store? -Julie
Yes, the regular whole milk powder. I got it from shaws, a local grocery at Boston.