Bhapa Doi and 1st Blog Birthday!

Hey everyone!!

Fig. 1. Bhapa Doi

Reminds me of a poem we learnt as kids..

ABCD-EFG,
come on Leena play with me!
HIJK-L-M-N,
it's Leena's birthday, she is ten!

Well.. today it's my blog's birthday and it is ONE! :D

When I started reading food blogs, I used them primarily for the recipes, and then for the encouraging food clicks. Over time though I started really reading the posts. And I realized that most of the blogs I liked had posts that essentially told simple stories of the daily lives of many many women everywhere. And that is what makes me visit them again and again..

Reading food blogs is like peeking into someone's kitchen window. And the thought that another ordinary person, not some celebrity chef, but someone pretty much like me, is doing pretty much the same things as me gives me an incredible sense of companionship! It also encourages me to think about doing the things they are doing that I am not. And as you all know by now, I am always on the lookout for inspiration. 

Over time I realized that it would be good to record all the food I was making for my own future reference. I was cooking anyway. Might as well take pictures and post my version of the recipe. I find that taking a picture and writing it up serves as a tangible reminder at a later date when I am super-busy, eating only Maggie and have forgotten that I can cook! ;) I cannot argue with a picture of my own fish curry or rasgulla. Well, a year has passed, I am stilling writing, still referring back to old pictures and am encouraged to cook more!

A major reason this blogging continues is readership! People visit this site and visit again. Some stay on and give advice, tips and feedback! Just last week I cooked red chard for the first time.. and I got two more recipe suggestions in reader feedback! Thanks everyone for your companionship! It is greatly valued!

Let me also give a big shout-out to Aparna, whose blog, Apy Cooking, happens to have the same birth date as mine! Happy Blog Birthday, Aparna! :)

On to Bhapa Doi..

I had to make something sweet for the happy occasion.. so I made this baked version of Mishti Doi called Bhapa Doi that I found at Bong Mom's. Sandeepa is the Goddess of simple recipes. And even then I made one change here. I didn't have evaporated milk. So thus was my recipe:

Ingredients:
Sweetened condensed milk - 7 oz (about 1/2 can) Add more if you like it sweeter.
Plain Yogurt - 2 cups
Saffron/Kesar - a few strands

Procedure:
1) Strain the whey from plain yogurt with a cheesecloth. I left it in a colander in the refrigerator for a day.
2) Mix the condensed milk, strained yogurt and a few strands of saffron/kesar in a small oven-proof dish. Taste and see if you want it to be sweeter, then mix more of the condensed milk.
3) Place the dish in another oven-proof pan filled with water. Bake in the oven preheated to 350 degrees. I had to bake for almost 1 hour. (I baked it till the top of the mixture was somewhat set i.e. did not coat my finger when touched gently.)

Thanks for sharing this recipe along with your updates about later trials, Sandeepa! The Doi tasted fabulous! Perfect for my blog's anniversary! :)

Cheers and thanks for reading, everyone! See you around!