🍬 Khoa

Khoa (khoya, mawa) is reduced milk, the basis of many South Asian sweets. Whole cow’s or buffalo milk is heated for hours in a wide, shallow iron pan over a medium flame, stirred constantly and scraped from the sides until the water evaporates. The milk is reduced about fivefold, to 65–70% solids; a temperature of about 80 °C is considered best to keep the mass from burning.

Khoa has been made in India, Pakistan and Nepal for centuries; according to the FAO, India produces about 600,000 tonnes a year. It was a simple way to preserve milk from the rural “flush season”. Khoa made in winter and kept cold until summer becomes covered with a greenish mould and is called “hariyali”; it is used for gulab jamun with a more granular texture. There is a quicker but less “proper” method — mixing whole milk powder with skimmed milk and reducing it.

Khoa differs from curd cheese and ricotta in that it is made not by curdling but by evaporating whole milk, so it keeps its lactose and fat. Khoa is used for peda, barfi, kalakand, gulab jamun and fillings for pastries.