Posu (Colostrum milk sweet dish)

I would like to put up this sweet dish which we call Posu in Konkani and ginnu in Kannada. Posu is made from colostrum milk, the milk from a cow that has just delivered. It is rich in proteins and carbohydrates. (Of course this milk is hard to find these days since people do not bring up cows and Bufffaloes at home.) It is loved by all of us in the family. It is typically eaten chilled but people prefer to consume it warm during the rainy season.

What you need to have:

1. Colostrum milk – 1 cup

2. Whole milk(pasturised)- 1.5-2 cups

3. Sugar/Jaggery (Molasses) – as per taste

4. Saffron or Cardamom – as per taste

Colostrum Milk

What you do with what you have:

1. Strain colostrum milk in a strainer and measure it since we will have maintain a certain proportion with respect to to whole milk. This happens to be on a trial and error basis. The reason being that the thickness of different breeds of cows or buffalos differ from each other. On mixing with the whole milk it would be as shown in the image below.

Mixture of Colostrum milk and the whole milk

2. The mixture is then poured in small containers adding sugar, a string or two of saffron and is as shown in the image below.

Milk mixture in small containers

3. Steam it in the cooker as you steam idlies withput placing the weight for 10 minutes. Insert a spoon to know if it is cooked and is shown in the image below.

Cooked mixture in bowls

4. If the mixture is cooked soft then cook the remaining mixture in a bowl adding required quantity of sugar to taste and saffron string and is as shown in the image below.

Store it in a refregerator and will remain afresh for more than 20 days.

Cooked milk mixture with sugar in a bowl

I just added Jaggery/Molasses to a part of the milk mixture and cardamom powder and cooked it in a bowl and is as shown in the image below. Cut and serve it in serving bowls on cooling in refregerator.

Milk mixture cooked with Molasses/Jaggery

How long it takes: 30 minutes

Number of servings: 2-3 people

Soyi Posu

A slight variation is to mix fresh grated coconut to a portion of the colostrum milk. We call it soyi posu, soyi being coconut in konkani.

What you need to have:

1. Colostrum milk-1cup

2. Fresh grated coconut-1/2 cup

3. Cardamom-5

5. Almonds and cashews – a few grated

6.Molasses/Jaggery-1/2 cup

Ingredients of Soyi Posu

1. Grate coconut, powder cardamom, crush mollasses and keep it aside.

2. Place a broad based bowl with milk, grated coconut and crushed mollasses together on a medium flame and cook it stirring occasionally until it mixes and solidifies and turns light brown.

3. Add powdered cardamom from step 1 to it, mix and switch off the flame. Sprinkle grated cashews, almonds etc for extra flavour.

On cooling enjoy it plain or even stuff it with bread and serve it to kids as some kind of a sweet sandwitch !

Ready to serve Soyi Posu

How long it takes: 15-20 minutes

Number of servings: 2-3 people