Khoya or Khoa also known as Mawa is a milk product made by continuously evaporating the milk until it is reduced to a solid granular form. This evaporated milk solids is then used in various food preparations especially in making sweets.
Home made Khoya is way better and hygienic as compared to the one available in market. Making Khoya at home though is a bit time consuming process but the khoya is a lot softer and tastier which no store bought khoya can beat.
Khoya is traditionally made from full fat milk and simmered on a medium flame in an iron kadhai until all the liquid is evaporated and one is left with only coagulated milk solids. On the basis of the texture the khoya is generally of three types:
- Hard Khoya: It has the least moisture content and is generally grated or crumbled for making sweets like burfi, pedha, gulab jamuns, etc. Through this post I have described the process of making this type of khoya.
- Soft/Hariyali Khoya: This is the softer version of the khoya that has more moisture content and is evaporated less as compared to the hard khoya. This is generally added to gravy or vegetables to make it more creamier and denser.
- Daanedar Khoya: This khoya has a grainy texture to it because the milk is curdled slightly by adding any acid (lemon juice/tartaric acid) and then the milk is evaporated. It has a moisture content that lies in a range between the above two varieties. It is used to make certain sweets like kalakand and certain laddoos and barfi.
When boiling milk one needs to make sure to choose a heavy bottom pan. It can be an iron skillet or a non stick pan. I used a non-stick pan to make khoya since the milk doesn’t stick to the pan. One needs to stir the milk continuously and keep scrapping the sides of the pan at all times.
A good amount of khoya can be obtained if full fat cow or buffalo milk is used. Generally for about 1 litre of full fat milk one should be able to get around 2o0-250 gms of khoya. However, this quantity may vary according to the quality of the milk used. At home we usually get very good quality of milk and I used around 2 1/2 litres of it and I got around 3 cups of Khoya.
I used this khoya to make gulab jamuns and gujiya. I must admit this was much much better and tastier than the store bought ones. Home-made khoya can be refrigerated and can stay good for about a week or so.
Ingredients for making Khoya at home:
Whole milk or Full fat milk – 2 1/2 litres
How to make Khoya (Mawa) with step by step pictures:
1.Take about 2 1/2 litres of full fat milk in a deep sauce pan with a thick base (non stick pan will be ideal) and keep it for boiling.
2. When the milk comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium/low.
3. Make sure to stir the milk continuously and scrap the sides of the pan and keep adding the scrap to the boiling milk.
4. Gradually the milk will start to thicken and become creamy though the milk would still be of dripping consistency. Keep stirring quickly at this point so that the milk doesn’t burn at the bottom.
5. After some time the milk will start to appear more creamy as well as start showing a granular texture.
6. Gradually the milk will start to thicken and turn more and more granular in appearance. If you are planning to make rabri for jalebi then stop cooking at this stage. However if you wish to make gulab jamun or laddoos, continue cooking the milk further.
7. Finally the milk will stop bubbling and attains a slightly cream colour.
Finally the milk will become completely granulated and appear cheese- like.
Stop the cooking and khoya is ready to be used for making different sweets. The khoya will turn hard once it is cooled. You can store the khoya for future use by refrigerating it for 3-4 days or deep freezing it for a month or so.
Note:
- Make sure to keep stirring the milk at all times. Burnt milk gives an awful taste.
- If you are preparing laddus, barfi or gujiya, stop cooking the khoya when it attains a light creamy colour. But if you wish to prepare gulab jamuns the khoya needs to be cooked further till it attains a slight golden brown colour.
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