Learn how to make pure mawa (khoya) the way it is made traditionally from scratch using just one ingredient, i.e. whole milk. Take your sweet treats a notch up this festive season with this homemade khoya!
Diwali is round the corner and I’m sure everyone is busy gearing up for the upcoming festival of lights.
I’m also sure you have made a list of things to make, buy and all the decor needed to spruce up your homes. Any Indian festival is incomplete without all the variety of amazing food and sweets.
I’ve planned on sharing some Diwali delicacies this season, but first, I would like to talk about homemade khoya. It has been on my to-do list for a while now.
If you are up to the challenge of making mawa from scratch, then this is the post you need. It is really simple, I promise!
All you need to do is follow all the tips in the post and you are good to go.
Table of Contents
What is mawa?
Evaporated milk solids or mawa, is prepared by simmering full-fat or whole milk until most of the water content evaporates. The milk is reduced to 1/5th of its original quantity. When the milk is reduced to this stage, you are left with a semi-solid dough, which is nothing but unsweetened khoya.
It is also known as khoya, khoa, khava, khoya, or khowa and is traditionally prepared in a deep iron wok.
There are quite a few types of mawa;
- Batti (hard variety): Batti means brick/rock and this kind of khoa is hard enough to be grated like cheese. It contains about 20% moisture by weight. This variety is also aged at times, for up to 1 year, due to which it develops a unique aroma and taste.
- Chikna (soft variety): Chickna means ‘slippery’ or ‘squishy’ and it has about 50 % of moisture. It is taken off the heat a little earlier than the batti variety and hence it is a little soft due to the extra moisture content. It is best added in savory gravies for a rich touch.
- Danedaar : This is a granular or grainy variety of khoya that has moderate moisture. Milk is coagulated with an acidic agent during the simmering process due to which it develops the granular texture. It is best used in sweets like kalakand, etc
- Dhaap or daab ka khoya: This is a less dried version, popularly used in making gulab jamun.
- Pindi koya: This is a dry variety used in making burfi and pedas.
- Hariyali Mawa: Khoa is normally white or pale yellow. If prepared in the winter, it may be saved for use in the summer and may acquire a green tinge and grainier texture from a harmless surface mold. This is called hariyali (green khoa) and is used in recipes where the khoya is thoroughly cooked, e.g., gulab jamun. With the advent of refrigeration, the production of hariyali is rare. (Source- Wiki)
There are many ways of making mawa instantly, for instance;
- With ricotta cheese and ghee
- Milk powder, milk, and ghee
- Using the microwave
But trust me, while all these instant mawa recipes are good, nothing beats homemade mawa.
If you have the time to spare I’d definitely suggest you try making this khoya recipe without the microwave. You will certainly see the difference it makes in the final outcome of all your Indian sweets.
Having said that, I will surely try to share the instant version of making mawa with milk powder in my future posts.
Why make khoya at home?
Readymade khoya is easily available in most mithai shops. Most popular brands have also started making khoya, which makes it accessible in most big cities in India.
In the United States, it is easily available in most Indian grocery stores in the frozen food aisle. If not in that aisle, you will get it easily in the powdered form known as milk-mawa powder.
So why bother making it at home? Here’s why you should try making it for yourself
- You end up with unadulterated mawa.
- It is not a tedious process, but one that does need a watchful eye.
- Homemade mawa definitely yields the most amazing, melt-in-the-mouth mithai’s :p
- If you find yourself with an excess quantity of milk, make mawa and freeze it for later use.
Ingredients needed
Milk: You only need milk for this recipe, but make sure you use full-fat or whole milk. I prefer using buffalo’s milk because of the increased fat content and thus a higher yield. You can also use cow’s milk as it is readily available.
How To Make Homemade Mawa Recipe – Step by step process
Step 1: Bring milk to a boil
Heat 1.5 litres of full-fat milk in a heavy-bottom pot or kadai over medium heat. (Photo 1)
Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally to prevent it from sticking at the bottom of the pan. (Photo 2)
Step 2: Reduce the milk until all the moisture evaporates
Once the milk comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, simmer uncovered, stirring the sides and bottom of the pan every 2-3 minutes, until the milk reduces and begins to thicken.
Once it starts thickening and appears grainy, stir continuously, scraping the bottom and the sides of the pan, until it changes into a doughy consistency and begins to leave the sides of the pan.
At this stage, the bubbling will stop which indicates the moisture in the milk has sufficiently evaporated and you are left with milk solids. (Photo 3 to 6)
Cook for another minute. The entire process took me about an hour and a half. (Photo 7)
Transfer the mawa to a container, let it cool completely. It will turn hard as it cools down. Refrigerate once it has cooled down. (Photo 8)
Storage instructions
If not using khoa right away, wrap it in cling wrap and place it in an air-tight container. Refrigerate for 4 to 5 days.
Or place it in a freezer-safe container, label the contents, and freeze for up to 1 month.
Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Crumble or grate the khoa and use as required in the recipe.
What can I make using this homemade khoya?
There are numerous khoya dishes that are quite popular in India. It can be used for both, sweet and savory recipes. Following are some of my favorite recipes using mawa;
- Gulab jamun: Nothing beats gulab jamun made using khoa. I’ve shared a very detailed recipe on this no-fail, gulab jamun post. Do check it out.
- Burfi’s: You can make so many flavored burfis, for instance, chocolate, mango, coconut, pista, etc using mawa as the base.
- Peda’s: Again, pedas are quite similar to burfi except for the shapes and sizes. You can also make modak shaped pedas.
- Ladoo: Not necessarily an ingredient used as a base in ladoo recipes. It can be added to enhance the flavor and richness of ladoos.
- Halwa: Again, just like ladoos, it isn’t used here as a primary ingredient. It is mostly added towards the end to add richness to the halwa, for example, gajar halwa, moong dal halwa, and the likes.
- Kheer/basundi/rabri: A little mawa can be added to these dessertss, especially when making for any ocassion.
- Mawa cake: One of my favorite cakes has to go to be a simple mawa cake. My recipe for mawa cake at home is inspired by the ones I’ve enjoyed from the popular Irani cafe, i.e Kayani’s at Marine Lines, Mumbai.
- Kulfi: Khoya is quite a common ingredient in kulfi.
- Gujiya/ghughra/karanji: These are deep-fried crescent-shaped fritters stuffed with sweet khoya filling.
- Samosa: This is a sweet version of samosa stuffed with a similar filling used for gujiya.
- Malpua: Used as one of the ingredients to make these pancakes dunked in sweet sugar syrup.
- Savory dishes: It is used in mildly sweet savory recipes like malai kofta, khoya matar, kaju khoya gravy, khoya paneer, khoya vegetable gravy, navratan korma, etc.
Recipe tips to make Indian Khoya
The apparatus to be used: As I mentioned above, you can prepare khoa in an iron kadai the traditional way. If not, then I suggest using a wide and thick bottomed pan. This gives more surface area, and hence reduces the overall cook time.
The best milk to use: It is preferable to use full cream buffalo milk, as it has a higher fat content as compared to cow milk. This also means that you will end up with a higher yield.
Pay attention to the milk while reducing: Once the milk has reduced and thickened, do not stop stirring. It can cause the milk to scorch which will produce an unwanted burnt aroma to the khoya rendering it totally useless. Waste of time, energy, and milk!! So please be attentive while making mawa at home.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Are khoya and paneer one and the same thing?
No, they are two different milk products.
Paneer is made by curdling the milk with lemon, vinegar, or yogurt. The curdled milk solids are rinsed and drained through a muslin or cheesecloth and then pressed down for several hours using heavyweights such as a heavy pot or mortar and pestle to drain the whey completely.
You end up with a block of paneer cheese that can be diced into cubes or crumbled to make dishes such as paneer bhurji.
Whereas for khoa we only need to reduce the milk until most of the moisture is lost and the milk reaches a semi-solid, halwa-like consistency.
What is the taste and texture of khoya?
Khoya has a rich, nutty, milky, and mildly sweet taste due to slow cooking and the caramelization of sugars in the milk.
It is slightly greasy to touch and has a little granular texture. Khoya adds a rich, creamy texture and mouthfeel and that is probably why it is used as the base for a majority of Indian sweets.
How much khoa can you get from 1 liter of milk?
1.5 liters of buffalo’s milk yielded about 350 grams of khoya. You should get about 225 to 230 grams for 1 liter of milk. If you use cow’s milk, you will definitely get a slightly lower yield.
★ Did you enjoy this easy khoya recipe? If you happen to try it out, I would love to hear from you! I’d appreciate it if you could rate and leave a review below in the comments. Your reviews help others know the recipe better too. Thanks so much 🙂
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Mawa Recipe | How To Make Khoya
Ingredients
- 1.5 litres full-fat milk, I've used buffalo's milk
Instructions
- Heat milk in a heavy-bottom pot or kadai over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally to prevent it from sticking at the bottom of the pan.
- Once the milk comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, simmer uncovered, stirring the sides and bottom of the pan every 2-3 minutes, until the milk reduces and begins to thicken.
- Once it starts thickening and appears grainy, stir continuously, scraping the bottom and the sides of the pan, until it changes into a doughy consistency and begins to leaves the sides of the pan.
- Cook the mawa for another minute.
- Transfer the mawa to a container, let it cool completely. It will turn hard as it cools down. Refrigerate once it has cooled down.
Video
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