Indian Bhapa Doi Recipe | How to make Bhapa Doi without Oven
Given the lack of interest for anything sweet in the house, my skills for making desserts is below par when compared to savory dishes. So, you can imagine the amount of excitement that every successful dessert story creates in my kitchen.  I prefer desserts to be short and  sweet (pun intended). OK, not too sweet, but you get what I am saying. If I can make it with minimal skill and effort -  more emphasis on the minimal skill - then I am up for it. Now, India is a land of desserts and I really believe that there are as many varieties of sweets in India as there are people!! Diabetes hasn't managed to make any dent the last time I checked! :) There are desserts for all occasion and all situations and hence its not a surprise that I find one that meets my sensibilities.
Indian Bhapa Doi Recipe | How to make Bhapa Doi without Oven
Minimal skill part taken care of, I find the effort part also taken care of, thanks to this wonder methodology called OPOS®Regular readers will be familiar with this by now since I can't seem to keep quiet about it in the last few months (that is ever since I discovered it!).  While I am not going to promise that you life will turn upside down or suddenly give you all the riches and glory in the traditional sense, I can assure of something that comes pretty close. You will be richer with more time at your disposal and hey - time is money nowadays! Cooking has been demystified in so many ways, effort minimised and hit ratio guaranteed with every dish you make in your kitchen. Oh yes, you will definitely be cooking more thanks to OPOS® - so bye bye take outs and restaurants. Did you hear the "cling clang" of money getting saved?
Indian Bhapa Doi Recipe | How to make Bhapa Doi without Oven
Ok that's enough PR for  OPOS today. Let's get going to the dish that possibly got you here in the first place. Bhapa Doi is Bengal's gift to everyone. An Indian cheesecake made using a combination of cooked down sweetened milk along with thick yogurt and spiced minimally. For something that's only like two main ingredients, it's extremely delicious with a texture akin to chewy rasagullah's and rasmalai's of the world! The traditional method involves (as mentioned earlier) cooking down the milk, then adding a sweetener and once cooled adding yogurt. These are mixed together along with spices and steamed in a double boiler until done. Refrigeration follows for a bit and then the dessert is ready. This recipe cuts out majority of the steps and simplies the process with pressure cooker eliminating the need to use double boiler (the time + the necessity of checking whether water doesnt dry out). 
  • Cook time:
  • Prep time:
  • Serves: Makes enough for 2-3 people
  • Yields: Just about 2 cups
Ingredients
  • 1 cup full fat whole milk Greek Yogurt, or see Tips
  • 1 cup sweetened Condensed Milk
  • 1 tbsp warm Milk
  • Pinch of Saffron, crushed
  • 1/4 tsp Cardamom Powder
Tips
1. Greek Yogurt: Traditionally, regular yogurt is strained using cheesecloth until it gets thick. This (hung) yogurt is used. I am saving myself time by using Greek Yogurt.
Method
1. Soak the saffron with milk and set aside for 5 minutes. On the side, take a bowl and add the condensed milk to it.
2. Next add in the yogurt. I haven't yet tried with fat free yogurt. And when I do, will update the post.
3. Next add in the cardamom and the saffron milk.
4. Mix well until combined.
5. You can either use a stainless steel container or a ramekin that is food+heat safe. The important criteria should be that it fits into your 2L pressure cooker.
6. Now place the ramekin inside the pressure cooker and pour down 1 cup of water to the sides of the ramekin. You can close the ramekin with a small lid to prevent water from getting into it although I usually don't (for no apparent reason!)
7. Close it with a lid and the weight on a medium flame.
8. Set the timer to 15 minutes.  We are going to go only by time.
9. The whistles will start coming but we are going  to ignore them. I think you would get 30+ whistles easily in this time period. But don't worry about it.
10. Switch off the heat the minute 15 minutes are up. Let the pressure settle down.
11. Open it and insert a knife or toothpick to see if its done. It should come out clean. If you notice, because I did not close it with a lid, some water has gone inside the ramekin. But its not a problem at all and doesnt affect the taste/texture.
12. Just close it with a lid and slant it on its side to pour out any liquid inside. Or you can always unmold it on a plate and do the same.
Serve it right on the ramekin itself garnished with nuts or fruits of your choice. I preferred this at room temperature/cold. Or you can unmold it on to a plate of your choice and decorate it as per your preference.
Indian Bhapa Doi Recipe | How to make Bhapa Doi without Oven

Recipe Reference

Minimally adapted from OPOS® Manual

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8 Comments

By Shweta on May 6, 2020

Tried this today and came out very well,thanks!!

By Meera on Apr 7, 2019

Is there a way not to use readymade condensed milk? I tried condensing and sweetening the milk. Didn't work. Pl help. Don't want to use store- bought condensed milk pl

That's one thing even I would like. I dont like buying canned anything and I have made exceptions for very very few things, this being one. Havent had the time to experiment with homemade one yet. If I do, will def update. --DK

By Anand on Apr 21, 2018

Hi, this sounds and looks relish. One question though - are the 15 mins in the pressure cooker counted for from when the whistles begin or from the moment the lid is closed? Also do we pour in cold water or boiling water into the pressure cooker. Thanks. I am so looking forward to making this. A

The timing starts right when you start cooking - so yeah when you put the lid on along with weight and switch on flame. So switch on the heat and set the timer. You dont need to add boiling water - regular room temperature will work. If you want to add boiling water, you might cook it faster. So you can switch off 3-4 minutes earlier. But my personal recommendation would be try the recipe exactly as it is for the first couple of times and then start doing changes :) --DK

By Ushavijayan on Mar 25, 2018

Must really try it looks very yummy.

Thank you soooo much :) :) :) --DK

By JB on Jan 6, 2018

Nice Recipe

By sandhya on May 3, 2017

yummy! thanks for sharing.

By jignesh on Apr 20, 2017

Hi, Your Easy Bhapa Doi Tips …. yummy. thank you.

By Padhma on Apr 17, 2017

Thanks for this recipe DK! Looks delicious! I want to try it out. Is there a size limit for the cooker for this recipe or would any size work?

I would suggest trying it with a 2L/3L PC first and then experimenting. I haven't tried other cookers hence can't be sure. The timing is provided for a 2L in this post. I am not sure about other sizes. Will update the time if I do in future Padhma. --DK