Bogura doi

The story

Curd making in Bogura is usually traced to the Ghosh families of Sherpur, a market town on the old road south of Bogura. Accounts differ on the details. The GI application, filed by the Bogura restaurant owners' association, says the craft began around 150 years ago with a maker named Nilkantha Ghosh; other local histories push it back further and name Ghetu Ghosh as the first maker. What all versions agree on is that it started as plain sour curd in Sherpur and only later became the sweet, deep-coloured doi people know today.

The jump from Sherpur to Bogura town is linked with Gour Gopal Pal (some writers call him Gour Gopal Ghosh), who is said to have made curd under the patronage of the Nawab family of Bogura. His descendants still run a sweet shop on Nawabbari Road. Bogura doi is said to have been sent to England in 1938 and served to visiting dignitaries, and after independence Muslim makers such as those of Baghopara also became well known. Today hundreds of factories across the district produce it, and Sherpur, Bogura town and the highway shops in between remain its heartland.

The Department of Patents, Designs and Trademarks registered Bogura doi as a geographical indication in June 2023, among the first food products in Bangladesh to get the tag.

How to spot the real Bogura doi

Good Bogura doi is set in an unglazed clay sora or hari, which draws out excess whey so the curd stays dense. The top is usually a light-brown, slightly caramelised skin, and the body underneath is creamy beige rather than snow white, because the milk is boiled for a long time before sugar is added. Tilt the pot and the curd should hold firm, with little or no water pooling on top. It should smell of cooked milk, not of anything sharp or artificial. Sour doi (tok doi) from the same makers is whiter and has no sugar; both are genuine Bogura products, so check which one you are ordering. The words "Bogura doi" on a shop sign are not proof of anything: the name is used on curd made in Dhaka and every other city.

Buying tips

Doi is a live dairy product and does not travel far. Makers themselves say it is best eaten within about a day of setting, so a parcel to a city several hundred kilometres away needs overnight or same-day transport. Before you order, ask the seller where the curd is actually made (Sherpur, Bogura town or somewhere else), what day it was set, how the sora is sealed and wrapped for the courier, and how many hours the delivery will take. Price depends mostly on pot size, milk quality and whether you want sweet or sour curd.

On Midmart each shop lists, sells and ships its own products and sets its own delivery charge, so curd from one shop and sweets from another arrive as two parcels with two charges. Midmart does not take payment or arrange delivery; you agree both directly with the seller. No Midmart shop is GI-certified by Midmart, so judge the seller on what they tell you about origin and freshness.

Keeping it fresh

Keep the sora covered and in the fridge as soon as it arrives, and eat it within two to three days. Do not freeze it, and do not leave it in a hot room: the curd will turn sour and watery. Use a clean dry spoon each time so the rest of the pot stays fresh.

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Shops from where it is made

SUMU ART New Bogura

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