Milk reduced and sweetened with caramelised sugar or date-palm jaggery, then set as yoghurt in clay pots — thick, fawn-coloured and sweet.
What makes it mishti doi
Milk simmered down until thick.
Sugar caramelised or date-palm jaggery for colour and flavour.
Set overnight in clay pots with a spoonful of old yoghurt.
Where it comes from
Sweet yoghurt set in unglazed clay pots, which draw off moisture so it sets firm. It is eaten across Bengal on both sides of the border; the town of Bogura, in Bangladesh, is especially famous for it, and so are several sweet shops in and around Kolkata.
In winter it's made with nolen gur, the new date-palm jaggery, which gives it a deeper, smoky sweetness. It ends a meal, and turns up at every celebration.
How it varies
Nolen gurer doi
Sweetened with the new date-palm jaggery of winter.
Bhapa doi
Yoghurt and condensed milk, steamed until set like a custard.