AI-generated image
Juju dhau
Thick sweet curd
Juju dhau: Bhaktapur's 'king of curds', a thick, sweet, creamy yogurt set in clay pots
Juju dhau means king of curds in the Newar language, and it belongs to Bhaktapur, the old brick-and-temple city east of Kathmandu, where it is sold in round clay bowls from shops around Durbar Square and taken home by the stack. Full-fat milk, traditionally buffalo milk, is boiled down by a third until it is rich and faintly caramel, sweetened, then set overnight in unglazed clay pots that soak up the whey, leaving a custard-thick, creamy yogurt with a pale golden skin. No wedding, festival or important meal in the Valley ends without it, and it is eaten on its own with a small spoon. People often rush the reduction, and the yogurt then sets thin and sour. Chef's tip: if you don't have clay pots, set it in ceramic ramekins and pour off any whey after setting; and keep it warm and undisturbed, wrapped in a blanket, so it sets in one smooth layer.
- Total time
- 35 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
- 2 litres full-fat milkor buffalo milk if you can get it
- 3 ½ oz sugar
- ¼ tsp ground green cardamom (optional)
- 3 tbsp plain full-fat yogurtlive, at room temperature, as a starter
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (2)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Pour 2 litres full-fat milk into a wide, heavy pan and bring to the boil over a medium-high heat, stirring the base with a flat spoon so it doesn't catch.
8 minStep 2: Keep it at a lively simmer for 20–25 minutes, stirring every minute or two and scraping in the skin that forms at the sides, until it has reduced by about a third (to roughly 1.3 litres), looks creamy ivory and smells slightly of caramel.
22 minStep 3: Stir in 3 ½ oz sugar and ¼ tsp ground green cardamom until dissolved. Take off the heat and let it cool to about 109°F: you should be able to keep a clean finger in it for 10 seconds, warm but not hot. Too hot and it will kill the starter; too cool and it won't set.
20 minStep 4: Whisk 3 tbsp plain full-fat yogurt with a ladleful of the warm milk until smooth, then stir it back into the pan.
Step 5: Pour into 6 unglazed clay pots or ceramic bowls. Cover with a cloth, set them in a warm, draught-free place (inside a switched-off oven with the light on works) and wrap in a blanket. Leave undisturbed for 8–10 hours, until set firm; a spoon should leave a clean cut.
540 minStep 6: Chill for at least 3 hours. Pour off any whey from ceramic bowls. Serve cold, on its own, in the pots. It keeps for 4 days in the fridge.
180 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 300 kcal
- Protein
- 11 g
- Carbs
- 37 g
- Fat
- 13 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does juju dhau take?
- About 35 minutes in total: 5 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of full-fat milk?
- Oat, soy or almond milk, same amount (use unsweetened for savoury dishes).
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Kartoshka cakeCocoa and cake crumb truffles
Soviet cafés and school canteens sold these knobbly brown 'potatoes' for a few kopecks, and they began as a thrifty way to use up sponge and biscuit trimmings at the bakery. Crumbs are bound with butter and sweetened condensed milk, flavoured with cocoa and vanilla, shaped into little potatoes, rolled in cocoa and finished with two dabs of pale butter cream for the sprouts. They are fudgy and dense like a brownie truffle, need no oven, and children love making them. Traditional bakers added a spoonful of rum, an optional extra for adult batches only; this version is alcohol-free with vanilla. The usual slip is coarse crumbs, which make the potatoes crack, so blitz them as fine as sand. Chef's tip: chill the shaped potatoes for at least 20 minutes so they hold their shape and slice cleanly.
Russian
Undu walaluFried urad dal rings in treacle
Walalu means bangles, and these dark, sticky rings of fried urad dal soaked in kithul treacle are a sweet that Sinhala families bring out for Avurudu and for special almsgivings, often made in large batches by an aunt known for her steady hand. A thick, fluffy paste of ground black gram is piped into loops and fried until crisp, then plunged straight into warm treacle, so the rings stay crunchy on the outside while drinking up the syrup. They taste a little like a darker, smokier jalebi, with a toffee finish from the palm treacle. Watery batter is what ruins them; it spreads into flat blobs, so grind the soaked dal with as little water as possible and beat it until light. This recipe uses no asafoetida, so it is naturally gluten free. Chef's tip: pipe the rings onto small squares of baking paper and lower them into the oil paper and all; the paper peels away in seconds.
Sri Lankan
MarquesitasCheese and cajeta crepes
Evening in Mérida's Plaza Grande means the smell of marquesitas: thin batter pressed in hot hinged irons until crisp, then rolled like a cigar around grated Edam cheese and a sweet filling such as cajeta, chocolate-hazelnut spread or jam. Edam came to the Yucatán through the port trade with the Netherlands and became part of the local cooking, and the salty-sweet combination is the whole point. At home you can cook them in a thin, wide frying pan. Edam is usually made with animal rennet, so check the label or use a vegetarian Gouda-style cheese. Chef's tip: roll while the crêpe is still in the pan and hot; within seconds it hardens and will crack.
Mexican