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Tuesday, March 8, 2011

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!

21 comments:

Cham said...

Happy Birthday to the blog baby! Ur blog is truly worth reading till the end. Love the way u pen ur story, especially the fitness...
Hehe I always felt visiting someone blog is just glancing and virtually smelling my neighb.'s kichen :)
Bhapa doi is on my try list, great choice and looks excellent!
Keep up ur good !

SS blogs here said...

Cham, that's such a sweet comment! :) Thanks a ton for your wishes!

suvi said...

just one year?Somehow, I thought you've been around longer. Happy 1st Birthday to your blog.

Sushma Mallya said...

Happy Birthday to ur blog, Bhapa Doi looks divine:)

Nupur said...

Happy Blog Birthday and wishing you many more years of good eats and blogging fun :)

As Cham said, bhapa doi has been on my to-try list for a long time too. Your version looks great.

Aparna S Mallya said...

Congratulations, girl!! May your blog have many many more b'days!! Thanks for the mention and thanks for yr support!

Loved yr write-up and the mouthwatering dish!

SS blogs here said...

Hey Aqua, Sushma and Nupur! Thanks for stopping by and the good wishes!

Hey Aparna.. thanks for wishes and the reminder earlier! ;)

Aparna S Mallya said...

Ss, just thought I'd let you know, I use fairly thick yogurt and do not strain it. I generally use the one from Costco, but have also used the Pavel's and Verka. You will find the recipe on my blog, but it's called Mishti Doi.

indosungod said...

SS. Wishing you many more years of blogging fun and good eats of course.

Bhapa doi has been in my to-do list forever. Yours looks fantastic.

sra said...

Happy Blog Birthday, SS! Your blog has a certain something I can't yet put my finger on, so you bet I'll keep coming over to discover that je ne sais quois. Maybe it comes from having read your stories, and it carries on into your other posts.

Me, I rarely read the recipes, I focus on what the blogger's saying! :)

Simplyfood said...

Happy Blog anniversary wishing you many more wonderful blogging years ahead.

Panchpakwan said...

Happy blog b'day dear...hope to see many more yummy recipes from you.
Bhapa doi looks dellicious.

You had asked abt masala used in misal,I have used normal garam masala any brand. no spl spices dear.

SS blogs here said...

Hey Aparna.. Thanks for tip. I'll check out your recipe!

Hey, Indo! Thanks for the good wishes! Blogging sure is fun! :)

Sra.. thanks for the compliment! That too in french and-all! Whoo-hoo! ;D

Hey Nayna.. Thanks for the good wishes!

Hey Jyoti.. thanks for the wishes. And yes, I did check out your tip! Thanks for that too!

Unknown said...

Happy 1st birthday to your blog baby. You sure are doing awesome and looking forward for more such wonderful recipes from you. Bhappa doi is my absolute favorite, love it :)

SS blogs here said...

Hey, Priya! Many thanks for the good wishes! :)

Malar Gandhi said...

Happy birthday to ur lovely blog. Bhapa doi looks great, tempting infact.

SS blogs here said...

Hey Malar.. good to see you. Thanks for your wishes!

Vaishali said...

Happy blog birthday, SS! And many more to come. :)

SS blogs here said...

Thanks Vaishali! :)

Bong Mom said...

Happy Blog Birthday SS. One alreadyyyyy ???

Your Doi looks real good. Next time take it out when it jiggles a bit but looks almost set, like jello, and then refrigerate. It sets in couple of hours in the refrigerator. That way it is not too much baked and creamy on the inside too.

And now I can redirect anyone who asks me about not having E.Milk

SS blogs here said...

Hey, Sandeepa! Thanks for the tip. I'll try that way next time. This doi is so easy and jhatpat.. can make anytime we need a quick dessert! ;)

Cheers!

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