English
বাংলা
The story
Bogura is the name everyone knows for doi, but several other places in Bangladesh have their own curd with a loyal following, and Khamarpara in Magura is one of them. According to the family that makes it, the curd was first prepared by Chitta Ghosh in Khamarpara, an area of Sreepur upazila. The name stuck to the product, so in Magura "Khamarpara doi" now means a particular style of sweet curd rather than just a place of origin. Chitta Ghosh's brothers have carried on the trade, and the family runs a shop called Khamarpara Dadhi Bhandar in the Nayabazar area of Magura town.
Its reputation is built on occasions. Members of the family told reporters that orders come in every day and that demand is highest in the wedding season, when the curd is expected on the table alongside the district's pera sandesh. Local traders put it simply: for a Magura celebration, there is no real substitute for these two. People who move away often ask relatives to bring a pot when they visit, and some have it carried abroad.
Like other traditional Bengal curds, it is made by boiling fresh cow milk with sugar until it thickens and darkens slightly, cooling it to lukewarm, adding a little culture from an earlier batch and leaving it to set overnight in unglazed clay pots. The porous clay draws off some of the whey, which gives the curd its firm, spoonable body. The family has not published its recipe, so exact proportions and setting times are not known.
How to spot the real Khamarpara doi
Good sweet curd of this kind is set firm enough that a spoon stands for a moment and a cut edge holds its shape. The colour is cream to pale caramel, often with a slightly darker skin on top, and only a little clear whey should collect at the sides. It should taste sweet and milky with a mild tang, never sharply sour, chalky or gluey. A wobbly, jelly-like set, a very white colour in a supposedly sweet curd, or a starchy feel on the tongue suggest gelatine, starch or skimmed milk. Because the Khamarpara name is used loosely, ask which maker produced the pot and where it was set.
Buying tips
Curd is the most delicate item you can order from another district. Ask the seller when the batch was set, whether it was made in Magura, and how it will be packed: clay pots should be sealed with paper or film, tied, and packed upright in a carton with padding, as they crack easily. Ask how long the courier takes to your area and whether the parcel will sit in a warm depot. In summer, order only if delivery is quick, or buy for nearby addresses. For a wedding, confirm the quantity well in advance because makers are fully booked in the season.
Every Midmart shop sets and collects its own delivery charge, so ordering from two shops means two charges and two parcels. Midmart does not take the payment or carry the goods: you agree payment and delivery directly with the seller, and it is the seller who answers your questions about where and when the curd was made.
Keeping it fresh
Put the pot in the fridge as soon as it arrives, keep it covered, and eat it within three to four days. Use a clean, dry spoon each time. If it smells strongly sour, turns watery throughout or shows any mould, throw it away.
Find Khamarpara doi on Midmart
Shops from where it is made
Every shop on Midmart collects payment its own way and arranges its own delivery — Midmart never handles your money or your parcel. Delivery is charged per shop: order from three shops and you pay three delivery charges.
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