Khoa (food)
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Khoa or khoya or khawa or mawa is a dried whole milk or milk thickened by heating milk in an open iron pan.
It is similar to ricotta cheese, but lower in moisture[1] and made from whole milk instead of whey.
There are three types of khoya - batti, chickna, and daan-e-daar. Batti, meaning “rock,” has 50% moisture by weight and is the hardest of the three types; it can be grated like cheese. It can be aged for up to a year, during which it develops a unique aroma and a mouldy outer surface. Chickna (“slippery” or “squishy”) khoya has 80% moisture. For daan-e-daar, the milk is coagulated with an acid during the simmering and has moderate moisture content.[2] Different Khoa is used for different preparation.
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[edit] Preparation
A concentration of milk to one-fifth volume is normal in the production of khoa. Khoa is used as the base for a wide variety of Indian sweets. About 600,000 metric tons is produced annually in India. Khoa is made from both cow and water buffalo milk.
Khoa is normally white or pale yellow. Khoa prepared in the winter may be saved for use in the summer and may acquire a green tinge and grainier texture from a surface mould. This is called hariyali (green khoa) and used to make gulab jamun.
Khoa was originally produced by putting milk in an iron karahi and placing over a medium fire for several hours. The milk was simmered at 175–180°F (about 80°C), an ideal temperature to avoid boiling and minimize scorching.[2]
[edit] History
India, known through the history as 'The Land of Milk and Honey' would obviously make use of the Milk in as much of its cuisine as it can. Milk in general has been a part of its cuisine all over.
[edit] Uses
Khoya, the thickened milk is then an apt ingredient used in various types of sweets such as Pedha (Penda in Gujarati), Barfi(or Burfi_ and Halwa.
Pedha is sweetened Khoya formed into balls or thick disks(like patties) with flavoring such as Saffron and/or Cardamom added.
Barfi also has the flavoring, however, Khoya is not the only ingredient in it. Typically another ingredient such as thickened fruit pulp or coconut shavings are added to Khoya and slow cooked until moisture evaporates sufficiently to the consistency of a fudge so that it can be flattened and cut into rectangles, parallelograms or rhombii(rhombuses).
Finally, Halwa is essentially a fudge made wherein Khoya is added to add dairy like taste, texture and a thickening agent to ensure that the final product has the consistency of a fudge.
[edit] References
- ^ indiacurry.com Fuzzy Math for reducing milk Retrieved 2008-02-24.
- ^ a b indiacurry.com Making khoya mawa Recipe Retrieved 2008-02-24.
[edit] External links
- FAO document discussing many dairy products including khoa
- Khoya - Methods and Alternatives
- Easy Way to make Khoya at home
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