Bangladesh Desserts

Misti Doi
(sweet yogurt)

Ingredients

• 1 litre long life (UHT) full cream milk
• 1 litre long life (UHT) single cream
• 1 cup natural yogurt
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup sugar

Directions

That's it, mix them together ( no need to boil and cool the milk ) and put the mix in the oven at very low temperature for 6 hours. by trial and error you will find the correct temperature setting for your oven for the perfect DOI ! If it's not setting, up the temperature a bit.

Let me break the myth about GAMCHA BANDHA DOI. Any DOI, if it does not set firm, put it on a gamcha like cloth and hang over a sink to drain for 6 hours. There you go, enjoy your Gamcha Bandha Doi - nice and firm.

Mango Lassi

Ingredients

• 1 cup yogurt
• 1 cup mango pulp
• 3 cup milk
• 3 cup water
• 1 cup sugar

Directions

That's it, mix them together and put the mix in the fridge and serve chilled, you can't go wrong, perfect every time !

Caramel Custard
(egg pudding)

Ingredienta & Directions

1 cup sugar ( put in saucepan and heat on stove until melted into golden brown caramel) Pour in a suitable dish, and let cool down.Mix 8 eggs, 2 cup milk, 1 cup sugar and 1 ts vanilla and pour in the dish on top of caramel (see above)

Seat the dish on a oven tray. Put 2 glasses of water in the tray (very important). Put it in the pre-heated oven at 150 degree C for 1hr. Take it out let it cool down. Run a knife around it to separate from the dish. Turn upside-down on a serving dish (careful) and serve chilled.

Tusha Halwa

• 1 cup all purpose flour (moyda).
• 1 cup butter or margarine or ghee.
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• 2 small pieces of cinnamon stick (about 1 1/2 inches)
• 2 cardamons and cloves.

Ingredients

Directions

Heat butter (or the other choices) on medium pan. Fry cardamons, cinnamon sticks and cloves until slightly golden. Pour the flour in. Keep stirring continuously until completely reddish-golden.In another small pan, boil water and pour the sugar into it to make a syrup. If syrup is too thick, add more water.

Pour the syrup over the golden-reddish "halwa". Stir until smooth. Serve warm.

Lemon Curd

Ingredients

• Juice of 1 small lemon
• 1 Large egg
• 1.5 oz sugar
• 1oz butter
• 1 tsp. cornflour

Directions

Whisk the egg and mix all ingredients in a saucepan. Place over a medium heat and whisk continuously until the mixture thickens. (3 Minutes)

Egg Haloa

Ingredients

• Three eggs
• 1 liter of full cream milk
• E8 table spoons sugar (or adjust to suit your taste)
• 25 grams of butter
• 1 leaf of bayleaf
• Pinch of powdered cinnamon
• Blanched, finely chopped almond (optional)

Directions

1.Pour milk in a saucepan and add half of the sugar and the bayleaf. Boil to nearly half its volume with occasional stirring to prevent the skin being formed. Allow to cool down.
2.Beat the eggs in a large bowl, adding the remaining sugar in three steps. Add this and the pinch of cinnamon to the milk and mix thoroughly.
3.Cook uncovered in a thick-bottomed pan over medium heat until it turns golden yellow. ALWAYS stir to prevent sticking and forming large chunks. Stirring is VERY important for good taste and small grains. The more you stir the smaller the grains. Add butter and go on stirring until the liquid portion is almost dried up, but be carefull not to overdry.

4.Pour the haloa in a glass bowl and decorate with chopped almonds if you like. Serve when cools down.

Shandesh
(Fresh Cheese Dessert)

Sandesh means good news and it is prepared by many Bengali families to welcome good news" and for festivals.

Ingredients

• 1 gallon whole milk
• 6 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon ghee
• 10 pistachios, finely crushed
• 6 whole cardamom pods, seeds only, finely ground

Directions

1.In a large, heavy saucepan, bring milk to the boiling over point. Add lemon juice and stir, until milk curdles. Remove from heat and let set for a few minutes.
2.Pour curds into a cheesecloth. Tie cloth and press out excess moisture, until cheese is firm, like the curds in dry curd cottage cheese.
3.Place cheese on a board, knead in sugar until the cheese is smooth.
4.In a large heavy frying pan, heat ghee. Add sugared cheese and cook on low to medium heat for 7 minutes, stirring constantly. Otherwise it will stick or burn. Add crushed pistachios and ground cardamom.

5.Remove from heat. Pour Sandesh into a serving dish and smooth out by pressing down firmly with a spoon. Cut into equally sized portions. Serve either warm or chilled. Comments: Serves 10-12

Tips: Use whole milk only. Skim milk is too thin. Milk takes a long time to boil over, but also boils over fast. I suggest staying in the kitchen with a good book. When bubbles form, start watching closely. A heavy-bottomed pan is a must to prevent burning. (If the milk does burn on the bottom, immerse pan in hot water. A little citric acid or lemon juice added helps clean up the mess). Most Bengalis press the Sandesh into fancy moulds. However these are not essential to enjoy the dish. If you feel adventurous, you can add honey, rose water, lemon essence or vanilla to taste.

Shemai
Sweet Vermicilli

Ingredients

• 1 stick butter
• 2 handfuls very fine vermicelli
• 4 cups Milk
• 1 pint Whipping cream
• 1 handful Raisins
• 3 tblsp Sugar
• 4 Almonds (optional) peeled and thinly sliced

Directions

1.Melt butter in a 4 qt pot. Break vermicelli into 3" pieces. Over low heat stir vermicelli into butter until it turns light brown. Pour in the milk and stir over medium heat until it boils. Put in the raisins, almonds and sugar.

2.Continue to cook under low heat for 10 minutes. Add whipping cream and continue to cook for a couple of minutes. Remove from heat and, when cool, chill in the refrigerator before serving Comments Courtesy - Dalbir Chadda Dalbir Chadda writes: This has been my all time favorite dessert. Ever since I was very little, I can remember asking for seconds and thirds. What makes this dessert unusual is that it is not as sweet as most subcontinental desserts. It is fairly simple to make. Make sure that the vermicelli is very fine (angel hair pasta is ok but the very fine vermicelli that can be bought at chinese stores is the best).