Our journey through Kolkata’s cabin culture took us to iconic spots like Mitra Café, where their signature chocolate pudding stood out. The pudding is rectangular and has two layers: a thin top layer with a light chocolate flavour and a vanilla layer on the bottom. It is served with chocolate sauce drizzled from the top. At Hazra’s Café, the pudding is a timeless classic—rich with cashews, raisins, and a delicate meringue topping. Both experiences inspired me to create my version of Kolkata cabin-style pudding.
Puddings have been very popular in Bengal because of the colonial influence from the late 1800s. In fact, Pragyasundari Debi’s Amish o Niramish Ahaar has an entire section on different kinds of puddings. The book was first published in 1902, and even today, it is a bestseller among Bengali cookbooks. Pragyasundari Debi also edited Punya, a women’s magazine featuring modern recipes of that era, highlighting Bengal’s long-standing relationship with this dessert.
Pudding Memories from the 80s and 90s
From personal experience, I can say that in the 80s and early 90s (before all the fancy patisseries came about), pudding was very popular in Bengali homes. From caramel custard (flan) or a bread and butter pudding to a classic eggs-milk-sugar, puddings often stole the show at dinner parties. Guests admired hosts who served these desserts, associating them with sophistication. Men frequently praised the dishes, asking their wives to recreate them at home.
Recently, a friend shared a Mishti recipe book by Mrs. J Haladar with me. It was published in 1926 and spoke about the confectionaries of Bengal. This included the Bengali pudding recipe made with chhana (curdled milk solids). I was thrilled to read the recipe and decided to recreate it. The exciting part about reading this book was finding out about the gadgets and cooking techniques. It described steaming techniques and wood-fired ovens, where hot coals were placed on top. The book also mentioned gadgets like the Ic-mic cooker, a precursor to modern kitchen tools, making pudding preparation more accessible.
Interesting Trivia about Ic-mic cooker
On Instagram, our pudding video sparked nostalgia. Mr. Raj K Chatterjee explained the Ic-mic cooker, invented around 1910 by polymath Indumadhab Mallick. Mallick was a Bengali doctor, educationist, philosopher, lawyer, botanist, entrepreneur, traveler, author, and social reformer. His travels through East Asia inspired him to create the Icmic cooker. The Icmic cooker was a tiffin carrier-like device that was designed to be placed inside a larger cylinder with a charcoal stove underneath. The cooker was sealed, and the boiling water in the lower container created a slow cooker effect. Because it was not pressurized, the Icmic cooker did not pose a risk of explosion.”
My father often spoke about how delicious vegetables and puddings tasted when my grandmother, an entrepreneur at that time, used the Ic-Mic cooker to prepare meals efficiently. Anindya also remembers his grandmother using the same gadget to cook multiple dishes at once.
Tips and Tricks to make Kolkata Cabin Pudding
- Firstly, use full-cream milk to yield creamy chhana. Two liters should produce about 500 grams.
- Next, mix chhana and khoya until smooth—no lumps allowed. Soon after, add the sugar and mix well.
- Then, whisk eggs with an electric beater to eliminate liquid residue.
- Finally, fold whisked eggs into the batter gently to retain air, ensuring a light, airy texture.
Check out these Calcutta/Kolkata Cabin food:
- Hansher dimer devil- Scotch eggs cooked in a desi way
- Chicken cutlet- a cabin favourite
- Chicken stew, also known as white chicken stew
Share your cooking with us –
Do try this recipe and share your feedback. You can also reach out to us at our social media handles Instagram, Facebook or any of our personal Facebook (Madhushree & Anindya) & Twitter profiles. Post a picture and tag us.
Kolkata Cabin Style Pudding
Ingredients
- 2 lts full-cream milk
- 2-3 lemons
- 150 gms khoya (milk solids), crumbled or grated
- 275 gms sugar
- 4 whole eggs
- 4 egg whites
- pinch of salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ghee for greasing
- chocolate sauce for drizzling
Instructions
- Boil the milk in a large pot. Once it starts boiling, turn off the heat.
- Add lemon juice and stir until the milk curdles, separating into whey and curdled solids.
- Strain the curdled milk solids (chhana) and discard the whey.
- Let the chhana cool down. Weigh it—ensure it is between 450 and 500 gms.
- Add crumbled or grated khoya to the chhana and mix until smooth.
- Add sugar and mix again until it forms a soft fudgy dough-like consistency, like a makha sondesh.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the whole eggs until frothy and pale yellow.
- In another bowl, whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until soft peaks form.
- Fold the egg whites into the chhana mixture using a spatula.
- Add the whole eggs and fold again.
- Finally, add vanilla extract and fold until the batter is smooth.
Cooking Methods
Option 1: In the Oven
- Grease a large pie or baking dish (15 x 8 inches) with ghee.
- Pour the batter into the dish and cover it with aluminum foil.
- Place the dish in a larger tray filled with water to create a bain-marie.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C and bake for 1 hour.
- Remove the dish from the oven, let it cool, and refrigerate for 4–5 hours before serving.
Option 2: In the Pressure Cooker
- Grease 2–3 tiffin boxes with ghee. Divide the batter equally and pour into the boxes. Close the lids tightly.
- Add 1 inch of water to the pressure cooker and place a metal riser at the bottom.
- Place one tiffin box on the riser and seal the cooker lid.
- Cook for 2–3 whistles or approximately 20 minutes. Repeat for additional tiffin boxes if necessary.
- Let the tiffin boxes cool before refrigerating.
Serve
- Before serving, drizzle chocolate sauce over the pudding and enjoy!
Pikturenama is a blog about our travel and food escapades along with stories to share through photography. 
