Kathmandu Valley (Newar) · 10 h · Vegetarian · Dessert · For confident cooks
Juju Dhau
In German: Koenigsjoghurt aus Bhaktapur
For 4 servings · US units
Thick, lightly sweetened yogurt from Bhaktapur, set in a clay pot
Juju Dhau means "king of yogurts," and one spoonful explains the name: ivory white, dense as pudding, with a faint caramel note from the long-simmered milk. That gentle sweetness is the hallmark of Newari juju dhau from Bhaktapur, set in unglazed clay pots that draw off the excess whey. It comes to the table well chilled — plain in the cup, or with saffron and cardamom if you like.
Ingredients
- 4¼ cupsMilktraditionally buffalo milk for its higher fat content
- 3 tbspSugartraditionally brown or unrefined sugar
- 2 tbspYogurtas starter culture, with live cultures
- 1 tspto flavour the milk or the finished yogurt (optional)Green seed pods of a plant in the ginger family, with a cool, floral, resinous aroma.Substitute: Ground cardamom can stand in for whole pods, about a quarter teaspoon for three to four pods, though it tastes flatter; no other spice matches the flavour, and smoky black cardamom is no substitute for green.Read more
- 2Clovesboiled along with the milk (optional)
- a few strands, for aroma (optional)Dried stigmas of a crocus that give dishes a golden colour and a bitter-floral aroma. Sold in small tins in the spice aisle of larger supermarkets, often cheaper and fresher in Turkish, Persian or Indian grocers.Substitute: There is no real substitute: turmeric or safflower give the colour but not the aroma, and turmeric adds an earthy taste of its own, so it should be used sparingly.Read more
- Khuwa (reduced milk solids)stirred into the boiling milk for extra rich batches (optional)
Method
- Soak the unglazed clay pot (katauro) in water for several hours, then drain it completely and let it dry. If you don't have one, use a clean container or an ordinary pot.
- Bring the whole milk — traditionally buffalo milk, whose higher fat content gives the dense texture — to a boil in a heavy pot or a karahi, and let it reduce for about 1.5 hours, stirring constantly so nothing catches on the bottom. If you like, boil 2 cloves with the milk from the start.
- Stir in the sugar and let it dissolve completely. Season with ground cardamom if you like; for especially rich batches, stir khuwa into the simmering milk.
- Remove the cloves before pouring the milk into the pot. Pour the milk into the prepared clay pot and let it cool to hand-warm, around 110 °F — on your fingertip it should feel neither hot nor cool.
- Whisk the plain yogurt smooth, loosen it with a little of the lukewarm milk, and fold it in gently until it is evenly distributed.
- Cover the pot — traditionally with a second, empty pot — set it on a bed of rice husks and wrap it in thick cotton blankets. Leave it undisturbed in a warm spot for 3 to 8 hours to set.
- Check the set by carefully turning the pot upside down: the yogurt should not fall out. If it is still too soft, wrap it up again and give it more time.
- Chill the finished yogurt thoroughly before serving and bring it to the table in the cup.
Tips and variations
If you want finer control over the sweetness, stir the sugar into the finished yogurt after fermenting instead of into the boiling milk. Vanilla works just as well as cardamom for flavour, and a few strands of saffron with a pinch of cardamom added at serving time give colour and aroma without interfering with the fermentation. Without a clay pot it will still set in an ordinary pot or a clean container — just a little less dense. Serve juju dhau well chilled in small cups, ideally the very clay pots it set in.
Allergens
Contains: Milk (including lactose)
Not every ingredient in this recipe has been checked, so nothing is promised as free from.
These notes follow from this recipe's ingredient list. Ready-made products and brands may contain further allergens — please check the packaging yourself.
Something not right?
This recipe was put together from independent sources and checked before publishing. Even so, a mistake can slip through — an amount that does not add up, a step that does not work as written. If you spot something, write to us: we will look into it and put it right.
