Udaipur Mawa Kachori Milk Solid Sweet Pastry Mewar

A deep-fried thick pastry shell filled with sweetened solid khoya and dry fruits, then soaked in sugar syrup — the Udaipur Mawa Kachori that is specifically different from the Jodhpur version in being larger, filled more generously with khoya and served in a thicker sugar syrup with rose water.

Ingredients

For the pastry:
2 cups maida, 4 tbsp ghee (rubbed in until crumbly), water — medium-firm dough
For the mawa filling:
300 g soft khoya — crumbled, 3 tbsp powdered sugar, 1/4 tsp cardamom, 1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 tbsp cashews and almonds — finely chopped, 2 tbsp raisin
For the sugar syrup: 1.5 cups sugar + 1 cup water, boiled to 1-string consistency + 1 tsp rose water
oil for deep frying

Method

Make the mawa filling: Combine crumbled khoya with powdered sugar, cardamom, nutmeg, chopped cashews, almonds and raisins. Mix well. Divide into 12 portions.
Make the pastry dough: Rub ghee into maida until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add water to form a medium-firm, smooth dough. Rest 20 minutes.
Make the sugar syrup: Boil sugar and water to a light 1-string consistency. Add rose water. Keep warm.
Divide and stuff: Divide dough into 12 balls. Flatten each into a disc. Place a portion of khoya filling in the centre. Gather edges and seal firmly. Re-roll into a smooth ball.
Shape into thick rounds: Gently flatten each stuffed ball into a thick round about 6 cm wide and 2 cm thick — the Udaipur mawa kachori is notably thick.
Heat oil on medium-low: The frying temperature is low — medium-low. The thick pastry requires slow frying to cook through without burning the outside.
Fry slowly: Fry 3 to 4 kachori at a time on medium-low heat for 8 to 10 minutes, turning gently, until deep golden-brown all over.
Drain briefly: Remove. Drain for 30 seconds.
Soak in warm syrup: Immediately place the hot, fried kachori into the warm rose water sugar syrup. Soak for 10 minutes, turning once.
Serve warm: Serve in the syrup with a garnish of pistachio slivers.
Note: The Mawa Kachori of Udaipur (the Lake City of Rajasthan and the seat of the Mewar royal dynasty) is considered superior by Udaipuris to the Jodhpur version — a friendly regional debate that persists among Rajasthani sweet enthusiasts. The Udaipur version uses more khoya in the filling and a rose water-scented syrup. The mawa kachori was likely developed by the sweet shops serving the Mewar royal court, as khoya-filled fried pastry in syrup is a preparation category associated with royal kitchen traditions across Rajasthan.