Sweets & Desserts
Juju Dhau (King Curd)
जुजु धौ
Bhaktapur's legendary "king of curds" is a thick, gently sweetened buffalo-milk yoghurt set in unglazed clay pots whose porous walls draw off whey until the texture turns almost custard-like. Newar dhau-makers have guarded the technique for generations, ripening the pots on beds of rice husk under layers of blankets. No Bhaktapur wedding, bratabandha or Bisket Jatra feast is complete without it, and it is still sold by the potful in the old city's back lanes.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 40 min
- Total
- 60 min
- Serves
- 6
- Difficulty
- Medium
At the stove
Method
Submerge the clay pots in clean water for at least two hours so the porous walls soak through, then pour the water out and stand them upside down to drain.
Bring the milk to a boil in a heavy-bottomed pan, then drop the heat and simmer, stirring and scraping the base often, until it has reduced by roughly a quarter and coats a spoon.
Stir in the sugar, honey, cardamom and saffron until completely dissolved, then pull the pan off the heat.
Let the milk cool to lukewarm — a drop on your wrist should feel neither hot nor cold. Too hot and the culture dies; too cold and it never wakes up.
Loosen the yoghurt starter with a ladleful of the warm milk, whisk until smooth, then stir it back into the rest of the milk.
Divide the milk between the damp clay pots, cover each with a cloth, and nest them somewhere warm and undisturbed — traditionally on a bed of rice husk, packed round with blankets.
Leave for 8 to 12 hours, until the curd is firm enough that you can tilt a pot without it sliding.
Chill for at least four hours before eating. The clay keeps wicking away moisture, leaving a dense, sweet yoghurt with a faint earthy note from the pot itself.
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