Khoa
Khoa (also khoya) is a milk food, made of either dried whole milk or milk thickened by heating 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; it has a moderate moisture content.[2] Different types of khoya are used for different preparations.
Khoa is also a name, usually of Vietnamese origin.
Contents
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 are produced annually in India. Khoa is made from both cow and water buffalo milk.
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 surface mould. This is called hariyali (green khoa) and is used to make gulab jamun.
Khoa is made by simmering milk in an iron karahi for several hours, over a medium fire. The gradual vaporization of its water content leaves coagulated solids in milk, which is khoa. The ideal temperature to avoid scorching is 175–180°F (about 80°C).[2] Another quick way of making khoa is to add full fat milk powder to skimmed milk and mixing and heating until it becomes khoa.
Uses
Khoa is used in various types of sweets:
- Pedha (penda in Gujarati) is sweetened khoa formed into balls or thick disks (like patties) with flavorings such as saffron and/or cardamom added.
- Barfi (or burfi) is also flavoured, but khoa is not the only ingredient. Typically, another ingredient, such as thickened fruit pulp or coconut shavings, is added to khoya and slow cooked until the moisture evaporates sufficiently to give the consistency of fudge, so it can be flattened and cut into rectangles, parallelograms or diamond shapes.
- Halwa is essentially a fudge made by adding khoa to give a dairy-like taste and texture and as a thickening agent.
References
Cite error: Invalid <references> tag;
parameter "group" is allowed only.
<references />, or <references group="..." />External links
- FAO document discussing many dairy products including khoa
- Khoya - Methods and Alternatives
- Easy Way to make Khoya at home
| 40x30px | This Indian cuisine-related article is a stub. You can help ssf by expanding it. |
- ↑ indiacurry.com Fuzzy Math for reducing milk Retrieved 2008-02-24.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 indiacurry.com Making khoya mawa Recipe Retrieved 2008-02-24.
