Small balls made from reduced milk solids (mawa/khoya) mixed with sugar and cardamom — deep fried until golden and soaked in sugar syrup. A Madhya Pradesh festival sweet made for Diwali, Holi and weddings across the state.
Ingredients
400 g khoya (mawa — dried milk solids, buy at Indian sweet shops)
3 tbsp maida (refined flour)
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
oil or ghee for deep frying
For the sugar syrup:
1.5 cups sugar
1 cup water
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
a few saffron strands
Method
Knead the khoya: Crumble 400 g khoya into a wide bowl. Knead with your palms for 3 to 4 minutes until it becomes smooth and pliable — like soft dough. If it feels too hard, warm slightly in a pan for 1 minute on very low heat.
Add maida and cardamom: Add 3 tbsp maida and cardamom powder to the kneaded khoya. Knead together for 2 more minutes until the maida is fully incorporated and the mixture is smooth and slightly elastic. The maida helps the balls hold their shape during frying.
Make the sugar syrup: Combine sugar and water in a pot. Heat stirring until sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil then cook for 4 minutes until it reaches a one-string consistency. Add cardamom and saffron. Keep warm on the lowest heat.
Shape the balls: Divide the khoya mixture into 18 to 20 equal portions. Roll each between your palms into a perfectly smooth ball. The surface must have no cracks — cracks cause the balls to break during frying.
Heat oil for slow frying: Pour oil/ghee to 6 cm depth. Heat to low-medium temperature — test with a small piece of khoya which should rise slowly in 4 to 5 seconds. Mawa baati must be fried on very low heat.
Fry slowly: Add 5 to 6 balls at a time. Fry on very low heat, rotating gently every 1.5 to 2 minutes, for 8 to 10 minutes total until they turn a deep golden colour all over. The very slow frying ensures the inside warms through without the outside burning.
Transfer to sugar syrup immediately: Remove with a slotted spoon and drop directly into the warm sugar syrup. Soak for 2 to 3 minutes.
Remove to a plate: Remove the syrup-soaked balls to a serving plate.
Cool slightly before serving: Let them cool for 5 minutes. The exterior will develop a slight glaze from the syrup.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
Note: Mawa Baati is the signature festival sweet of Madhya Pradesh — made for Diwali, distributed at Holi and served at weddings. The city of Ujjain in MP is particularly famous for its mawa preparations — the sweet shops around the Mahakaleshwar temple have been making mawa sweets for centuries. The slow frying on very low heat is the non-negotiable technique — rushed frying at high heat produces a pale, greasy ball with a raw inside.