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
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.
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 !
How long it takes: 15-20 minutes
Number of servings: 2-3 people
December 12, 2008 at 8:58 am
hey first time here and interesting blog. i have heard of ginnu never seen it or eaten it . looks yum
December 12, 2008 at 10:08 am
Hi Sushma,
Do pass on the link to ur friends. Thanx for ur comments.
December 12, 2008 at 2:04 pm
hello,
I have heard of ginnu, some how we never cooked with it, these recipes look yummy. I frequently visit your site, you have great recipes. I had tried your Alu capsicum masala and it had come out very well.
Aparna
December 12, 2008 at 3:49 pm
Hi Aparna,
I thought instead of me forgetting the recipe in the days to come, would as well put it up here so that any body could refer to it in case, he/she had to give a try for the same.
December 12, 2008 at 5:25 pm
Hey its frequent in my MILS home and we call it by a funny name in Sindhi,the name will irk u but we call it PIS .And this is the only sweet dish that i like to eat(i hate sweets) since it is very mildly sweet and delicious too.
December 12, 2008 at 7:10 pm
Miss them so much, very tempting to have them after seeing ur pics. looks absolutely yummy…
December 12, 2008 at 11:07 pm
I miss them so much…delicious, awesome clicks…had long back in grandma’s house…
December 13, 2008 at 2:22 am
Hi Priya, Ruchil and Alka
Actually i wanted to put it up long back, but unavailability of the milk i could’t. Thanx that my fellow bloggers liked it.
December 13, 2008 at 4:32 am
Hi,
This is one of my favorite dishes which my grandmom used to make. My mom also makes it whenever she finds the special milk. Does anyone know if the colostrum milk is available in Bay Area (San Francisco) or US?
-Supriya
August 7, 2015 at 2:28 pm
My husband is brought up in a Kerala village where they had their own cattle. They believe that colustrum is very difficult for the newborn to digest and hence for the first 5/6 days after delivery, they milk the cow and throw away colustrum in a pond as waste. It is never consumed. They believe it is wrong to consume that and instead, it will harm us. He shouts at me when I eat the sweet.
August 29, 2016 at 10:26 pm
Hi Pooja, it’s very strange how your husband’s people throw away colostrum, because it is vital for the development of young cattle. It helps their growth and prevents infections and cattle diseases. It would be a gift to your husband’s people if you could convince them of this, but I understand why it might never happen. As a matter of curiosity, what are new-born calves fed on if their early milk (colostrum) is thrown away for several days after their birth?
December 13, 2008 at 6:08 pm
Can we prepare the posu with just regular whole milk, i like this sweet very much but since colostrum milk is hard to find here in the US i was wondering if we could use only regular milk along with china grass ??
December 14, 2008 at 2:03 am
Hi Supriya and Ritu,
I think you can try with the whole milk available in the U.S. Please donot use low fat milk since it doesn’t contain fat, it may not work out. Heat milk , on cooling add a drop or two of lemon juice add either Mollasses or sugar saffron or cardamom powder and steam it as you steam idlies.
December 14, 2008 at 8:44 am
hi,
another award-winning recipe.This is one of my the most favourite dish.Thank you so much for the recipe.i will be trying it with whole milk as you suggested in the comment section as it is impossible to get that special milk.Again thanks a lot for reminding me of my fav dish.
December 14, 2008 at 10:21 am
Hi Rashmi,
I never thought that this recipe would be a big hit on the blog. It’s a real surprise to me. Thanx once again for ur comments.
December 14, 2008 at 6:43 pm
this is one of my favourite one .. last time we made different version of this ..I will post that version very soon
December 15, 2008 at 2:17 am
Hi Trupti,
Thanx and will be waiting for ur post.
January 3, 2009 at 2:13 am
Ms. Pratiba Rao,
Thank you for the recipe. I migrated to U S more than a decade ago. Ginnu as it is called Andhra is one thing I miss a lot. That is my no. 1 favorite food.
For those Indians who settled in far off lands and miss Ginnu like I do, I have a sweet news.
We do not get Ginnu milk. But we can buy it in the form of powder by the name of COLOSTRUM. Ginnu milk can be made from the powder which in turn can be used to in the recipe.
The website to buy COLOSTRUM POWDER is
http://www.neeps.com/456801.html
After trying this out please share your experiences with Ms Pratiba Rao.
Good Luck
January 3, 2009 at 2:26 am
Hi Murthy,
Thanx for the information so useful. Please try out the dish and lemme know.
January 28, 2009 at 2:26 am
Ms Prathibalrao and all Posu/Ginnu lovers,
Yes ! We did it.
Using colostrum powder we made it. But it took almost 10 days of trial-and-error. And finally we made it. It’s not as perfect as it would be in India, but for sad souls abroad it is ok.
For every cup of milk mix 1/2 spoon to start with and improve your methods thereupon.
Add some half-and-half also.
Let me know your improvements.
Murty
January 28, 2009 at 8:40 am
Hy Murty,
Thanx for trying the recipe and informing all of us
there upon the result.Gr8 i say!!!!!!!!!!!
February 15, 2009 at 10:44 pm
To all interested in colostrum please visit….
http://www.advancedproteinsystems.com/faq.html#2
February 16, 2009 at 11:44 am
Hi Murthy,
Thanx for being informative and inquisitive.
February 23, 2009 at 7:24 am
I recently found out that colostrum milk is available in Whole Foods stores in the Bay Area.
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/
It is exactly like the colostrum milk available in India and the posu tastes great.Try it out..
February 25, 2009 at 2:29 am
Hi Supriya,
Thanx for being informative.
August 25, 2009 at 7:30 pm
[…] creams. Or those made with ingredients that are hard to find or make people uncomfortable – like kharwas/geen/posu (Indian creme brulee made with colostrum). Some are downright disgusting (think aspic). […]
September 13, 2009 at 3:03 pm
Thanks guys… we have been searching for this for years… we didnt know what it was called.. .we searched using various stirng combinations… well now we know it is called as Posu… and our fav dish… thanks again!!!
September 13, 2009 at 3:33 pm
Hi Menka,
Thanx a lot for your comments.
January 10, 2011 at 12:08 pm
That’s really sad. If humans drink up the colostrum milk then what is left for the baby cow that has been just delivered? Sighs…
January 10, 2011 at 2:09 pm
Hi
The baby cow can’t be fed with the whole lot of colustrum milk since it may lead to in-digestion. So we make use of a part of it and leave the rest to the calf which would be more than sufficient. We just use a little of first day’s milk and the rest all is left to the calf it self. I hope i have made my self clear. Ha Ha Ha
January 21, 2011 at 4:29 pm
Just today a friend told me that a powder which is available in Andhra is added to milk to prepare the Ginnu/posu; could it be colostrum powder? We also call this ‘milk-pudding'”Geena” (‘n’ consonance as in ‘anu’ to mean atom in most Indian languages)in Konkani that we speak; and in Marathi it is called Kharvas. Milk and colostrum from both cow and buffalo can be used for the sweet.
Colostrum property of the milk in lactating cattle is very high in the first 3 days after the delivery but with progressive decrease as the days pass. Accordingly its ratio to milk need to be adjusted for cube-cutting thickness of the sweet – normally this consistency is lost after third day.
A tasty variation with distinct flavour which we often prepare is by adding colostrum to coconut milk instead of dairy milk. White/black pepper powder is also used with or without cardamom for added flavour.
I have unconfirmed information that in Dairies in Delhi colostrum is simply thrown away as waste -will be happy if proved wrong. If true then it could be because of some taboo attached to it. Colostrum is high in protein and full of helpful germ-fighting immunoglobulins hence should never be wasted.
May 9, 2012 at 1:02 am
my wife just made it, and it is delicious( she has her own recipe), I just want to know hte calorie information on the colostrum milk
July 2, 2012 at 10:53 am
[…] trying to figure out how to use it. I found a couple of intriguing recipes here and here and here. We’ll see how many I actually get around to trying. Looks like, if we want to try the […]
July 2, 2012 at 3:17 pm
mami, now this colostrum powder is available in our shop at koteshwar. it a prodouct from shimoga and now my brother sells it. it gvs the same taste than that of colostrum milk. i tried it here in abu dhabi and it was awsum taste. like it,. if u feel to have posu u can get the powder from our shop. even i too have posed it in my fb. but ur clips have cum too good..
nammu
July 2, 2012 at 3:48 pm
Hi Nammu,
I know about da posu powder and i saw ur clicks on FB as well. It is too good and thanks a lot for the information. How r u both and also the little cuteeeee???? Tc.
Mami.
July 6, 2012 at 1:12 am
who r u?
August 23, 2013 at 2:04 pm
For someone who holds the cow in any regard, this is a very CRUEL dish. Colostrum is a life-saving food for the newborn calf. It is extremely mean, selfish and unnecessary to take it away, just to make a sweet. There are loads of other sweets to try.
Hope it makes sense, what I’m trying to say.
Regards,
July 6, 2012 at 1:11 am
its ex
September 15, 2012 at 9:06 am
HY Iwill give u one trick to make kharwas from normal high fat milk goa dairy or warana , 1/2 ltr hf milk, jogaary Gul 1/4 kg whole kasu nuts 10nos , grated coconut 1/2 medium size,turmeric leaves 1.
mix goggery in milk by hnd till it dissolves,stain it by stainer,tok coconunt milk by adding 1/2 cup of thos milk stain it, add to milk ,make paste of casunut by adding little milk and poure it in the milk stirr wlell.place milk in cooker in bowl add water in kooker at bottom of bowl, kook for 20 min withowt whistle serve hot or chilled.
September 15, 2012 at 5:58 pm
Hi Vaibhav,
Thanx a lot for ur recipe. Will surely try it out.
December 28, 2012 at 9:21 pm
why is Turmeric used???
August 23, 2013 at 2:01 pm
Thanks for posting an alternate to colostrum, vaibhav.
this is a very CRUEL dish. Colostrum is a life-saving food for the newborn calf. It is extremely mean, selfish and unnecessary to take it away, just to make a sweet.
regards
October 30, 2012 at 4:36 pm
We in Gujarati tel Bari… yummy soft milk sweet. Just would like to share my recipe- Foodies’ Fun
November 3, 2012 at 6:50 pm
Hi Vruti shah,
I have gone thru the same and will try out your version and let u know the same. It looks interesting too.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
August 23, 2013 at 2:00 pm
this is a very CRUEL dish. Colostrum is a life-saving food for the newborn calf. It is extremely mean, selfish and unnecessary to take it away, just to make a sweet.
November 30, 2012 at 6:43 pm
[…] was also surprised to find out that used in Indian and Icelandic […]
January 2, 2013 at 10:02 pm
Hey Folks,
Its a commercial business nowadays, what say? Its high time you folks get pregnant
with artificial insemnation and time for selling your own milk. Maybe then it will get
into your brains that colostrum milk is for the calf and not for you greedy people.
How the yucks can you consume such a thing in this world. That is why
nowadays seeing the cruelty to animals people have begun going the
vegan way.
Get it!
October 27, 2018 at 10:12 am
Hello Mom,
New born calf can not drink whole quantity of colostrum that a cow produces. I can vouch for it, after interacting with many old generation farmers from various states. As cow produces more colostrum than a new born can consume, the remaining colustrum MUST be milked from the cows, else they are likely to become ill and may develop mastitis, which is an inflammation and infection in the udder. In most places, only the remaining colustrum milk after the calf had it’s fill is used.
August 23, 2013 at 1:59 pm
I dont want to be rude, but this is a very CRUEL dish. Colostrum is a life-saving food for the newborn calf. It is extremely mean, selfish and unnecessary to take it away, just to make a sweet. Only because the poor animal can’t stop us.
C’mon ppl, there are many other sweets out there. Please dont consume colostrum from a cow.. it gives us everything it has anyway.
October 27, 2018 at 10:13 am
Hello Sarita,
New born calf can not drink whole quantity of colostrum that a cow produces. I can vouch for it, after interacting with many old generation farmers from various states. As cow produces more colostrum than a new born can consume, the remaining colustrum MUST be milked from the cows, else they are likely to become ill and may develop mastitis, which is an inflammation and infection in the udder. In most places, only the remaining colustrum milk after the calf had it’s fill is used.
September 5, 2013 at 6:13 pm
Thank you very much… today i got some fresh Colostrum milk., i will try the same and serve my children.
October 10, 2014 at 2:34 am
Nice Post , Remind me my childhood 🙂
November 29, 2014 at 12:03 am
I have made it today and its like heaven…
March 20, 2015 at 6:39 am
For how many days will it remain fresh in refrigerator?
March 21, 2015 at 6:58 pm
It would remain for more than fort night if there happens to be consistent power
March 21, 2015 at 9:35 pm
thanks a ton
March 22, 2015 at 12:53 am
Hi Bharath,
R u planning to prepare or have u prepared???
March 22, 2015 at 7:09 am
My grandmother/mom/wife have been making it regularly for many years at home.But I was not sure of its shelf life.I am glad to know that it can remain fresh for 15 days.BTW in Gujarat this milk is given away for free by cattle rearing community(aka RABARIS locally)..This delicacy is sold by vendors in handcarts too
March 25, 2015 at 5:57 pm
Bought Kamdhenu brand colostrum powder/Junnu powder for Rs200/100 gramms packet online.This packet was carrying a sticker,pasted by online trader.When I removed the sticker I came to know that original price of this packet is just Rs 40. Guy selling it Online is making fat profit.I think I should have inquired with local grocer selling south Indian grocery.
March 26, 2015 at 2:04 am
Hi Bharat,
One has to be careful while shopping on line as we are taken for a ride at times. I also have tried the dish with that powder. It is awesome and the cost is 40? per pack.
March 26, 2015 at 7:57 am
Hi Prathiba
Hope after your clarification other readers will be careful while buying this product online.Pl.give some hint about price range in future.Thanks.
March 26, 2015 at 10:33 pm
Thanx a lot and please pass on the link of this blog among your friends and family community!!!
March 28, 2015 at 8:14 pm
Ms.Prathiba
I have managed to find FB page for this product ,created by Banglore based supplier.He has agreed to supply it at printed price. https://www.facebook.com/Kamadhenu.Ginna?fref=nf I have spoken personally with Mr.Panchasaria who has created this FB page to confirm price of Junnu powder his contact numbers are contact 098454 46692 /09448172118.(N.B.I have no business interest in giving this info)
September 26, 2016 at 6:04 pm
Kamadhenu Colostrum Powder (Kharvas Powder) available in Mumbai at
Natraj – The Eats & Needs Store,
Shop No 6, Neelkanth Gardens,
Govandi East, (Near Chembur), Mumbai – 400088.
#022 – 25585111
September 26, 2016 at 6:23 pm
read the contents of kamdhenu brand Posu powder.It does not contain REAL colostrum powder but a plant extract &skimmed milk powder(NOT COLOSTRUM MILK POWDER)
August 18, 2016 at 11:18 am
Every one is saying good and testy dish but how long we can preserve this milk in the fridge
March 29, 2015 at 8:53 am
April 11, 2015 at 9:13 pm
Hi Mam,
We used to waste the milk. I prepared it for the first time today. Its really amazing. I never thought this is so tasty and healthy
April 11, 2015 at 10:11 pm
Hi Raju,
It is actually healthy and nutritious too. We never waste this milk at all but not compromising it with the calf!!!!
April 11, 2015 at 10:14 pm
Hi Ranju,
Sorry for wrong spelling!!!
April 12, 2015 at 8:52 am
Ms Prathiba
new born calf can not drink whole quantity of colostrum.I can vouch for it ,after interacting with many RABARIs(community which rears cattle in Gujarat traditionally).As cow produces more colostrum than a new born can consume, they feed it to their dogs or giveaway for free to anyone who approaches them.So do not feel guilty while using it for making Posu.I have also learnt that powder for making Posu usually is not made of colostrum milk.A plant extract added to skimmed milk powder imparts Posu like structure to milk.
August 7, 2015 at 2:32 pm
My husband hails from a Kerala village where consuming colustrum is taboo. It is considered as waste. He is of the opinion that it is wrong to consume colustrum. It is harmful for human body.
August 8, 2015 at 12:45 am
Hi Pooja,
We are very familiar with this dish since childhood and we all love it as we we have cattle at home.
On Fri, Aug 7, 2015 at 2:02 AM, The Indian Food Court wrote:
>
August 8, 2015 at 7:01 am
kamdhenu brand Posu powder is made by adding a plant extract
to ordinary milk powder .So you can relish Posu without guilt.
August 8, 2015 at 7:33 am
Hi Bharat,
We are not guilty to consume as the whole lot of milk will be too much for the new born calf and hence we use the remaining.
August 8, 2015 at 8:27 am
Dear Pratibha I fully agree.It applies to regular milk too.But many people(like MsPooja’s husband)have reservations for one reason or other.They too can enjoy Posu made o Kamdhenu Posu powder because a plant extract added to milk powder makes sweet which tastes like Posu.There for (In Hyderabad) many out door caterers advertise that they serve Posu made of real Colostrum milk.
August 26, 2015 at 3:13 pm
Which is that plant Mr. Bharat?
January 3, 2016 at 6:41 am
[…] was also surprised to find colostrum used in Indian and Icelandic […]
January 5, 2016 at 5:51 am
[…] me sorprendió encontrar el calostro se utiliza en la India y el Islandés […]
January 11, 2016 at 1:01 am
[…] war auch überrascht, Kolostrum eingesetzt in indischen und Isländische […]
September 23, 2016 at 2:17 pm
Kamadhenu Colostrum Powder (Kharvas Powder) available in Mumbai at
Natraj – The Eats & Needs Store,
Shop No 6, Neelkanth Gardens,
Govandi East, Mumbai – 400088.
#022 – 25585111
September 26, 2016 at 6:24 pm
kamdhenu brand Posu powder is made by adding a plant extract
to ordinary milk powder .So you can relish Posu without guilt.
September 26, 2016 at 8:47 pm
Hi Bharat Khatwani,
I donot use that powder at all. I use the original cow milk only without any guilt as people donot feed the new born calf the milk released as soon as the cow is delivered but throw it out. as the calf is not big enough to digest that huge quantity of milk. so i donot feel guilty at all.
September 26, 2016 at 10:54 pm
In Kerala and some other states not a single drop of ,this milk is given to the new born calf.I have travelled in rural areas of Gujarat and I do vouch that this practice is prevalent in Gujarat too.Rabaris(community rearing cattle)do not sale it due to religious reasons.They give away it for free.If no one approach them for it they feed it to dogs.
September 27, 2016 at 10:51 am
Hi Bharath Katwani,
Even in my grany’s house they neither use it nor sell it . But it is so sad that they throw under the coconut trees!!!
January 31, 2017 at 3:35 pm
Sarita its not at all cruel if humans consume colostrum milk, instead of the calf, reason being that, its too thick for the calf and would not be advisable to let the calf have it. Of course with all due respect to animal lovers, we must not physically hurt animals, who cannot express their feelings. Poor them! Sorry dear, if I may sound rude to you, but I am being very practical. cheers!
May 19, 2017 at 11:19 am
[…] Source: https://cuisineindia.wordpress.com […]
September 26, 2017 at 3:45 pm
Hi, mam if posu gets hard then how to improve it
September 26, 2017 at 3:48 pm
Mam yesterday I made posu, but it has become hard, i did mistake, I put less milk in colostrum…. Is there any way to improve it, pls tell, I made that posu for my husband
September 26, 2017 at 10:25 pm
Hi Kulsum,
Always make sure that you do a test doze of cooking posu. You must 1 part of colustrum milk to 2 parts of normal milk. In another bowl add 3 parts of normal milk to 1 part of colustrum milk with jaggery/sugar. it is only by testing we make sure about the harness or the softness of the finished product. I hope i have made myself clear. If any questions you may please text me. You can not improve the posu once it is ready.
April 7, 2023 at 4:44 pm
[…] I was also surprised to find colostrum used in Indian and Icelandic cuisine […]