Ingredients
- Sweetened Condensed Milk 3 cups
- Plain Full-Fat Yogurt 1 cup
- Whole Milk 1 cup
- Golden Raisins ¼ cup
- Pistachios ¼ cup, finely crushed
- Saffron 16-24 strands (optional)
Cook it
- In a large bowl, whisk together the sweetened condensed milk, yogurt and whole milk until well combined. Fill eight 4-6-ounce ramekins with the dairy mixture, stopping about ¼ to ½ inch from the rims. Place a teaspoon or so of raisins in each ramekin (they will sink, and that’s fine0. Sprinkle each ramekin with a hefty pinch of crushed pistachios and, if you’re using it, 2 or 3 strands of saffron (make sure the strands are separated.
- Preheat the oven to 275˚F.
- Prepare a water bath: Place the ramekins in a large baking dish (Pyrex works nicely here). Bring 8 cups of water to a boil, then carefully pour the hot water into the baking dish until it reaches halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
- Bake the bhapa dhoi until set but slightly jiggly in the centre, about 25 minutes. Carefully remove the baking dish from the oven and remove the ramekins from the hot water. Set them aside until they’re cool enough to handle, then chill in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours and up to overnight to give the bhapa dhoi time to set. Serve chilled.
- Bhapa dhoi keeps, tightly covered in the refrigerator, for up to 5 days.
Recipe excerpted for the purpose of review, from No. 1 Best Indian Cookbook in the World: At-Home Recipes from the Streets, Truck Stops, Villages, and Palaces of India At-Home Recipes from the Streets, Truck Stops, Villages, and Palaces of India by Meherwan Irani with Jamie Feldmar (Ten Speed Press, 2026). Modified slightly for style. Photograph is reviewer’s own.
