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Bal mithai
बाल मिठाई: Almora's chocolate-brown khoya fudge coated in tiny white sugar balls (sets for 2 hours)
Bal mithai belongs to Almora in Kumaon, where sweet shops on the old Lala Bazaar have sold it for well over a century. Khoya is cooked slowly with sugar until it caramelises to the colour of dark chocolate, set into bars and rolled in little white sugar balls, which give a crunchy bite against the fudgy middle. Families carry boxes of it home from the hills as the town's best-known souvenir. The flavour is deep and toffee-like, with no added colour or cocoa. Chef's tip: keep the heat low and be patient; the deep brown comes from slow caramelising over half an hour, not from turning the flame up.
- Total time
- 45 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 10
Ingredients
For the fudge
For coating
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Grease a small tray or tin, about 15 x 15cm, with a little ghee.
Step 2: Put 14 oz khoya (mawa) and 1 tbsp ghee in a heavy non-stick or thick-bottomed pan over a low heat. Stir and mash for 5 minutes until the khoya melts into a soft, loose mass.
5 minStep 3: Add half the 4 oz sugar and keep stirring constantly over a low heat. After about 10 minutes it will turn beige, then light brown, and smell of caramel.
10 minStep 4: Add the rest of the sugar and keep going for another 15–18 minutes, scraping the bottom every few seconds, until the mixture turns a deep chocolate brown, thickens and pulls away from the pan in one mass. The big mistake is raising the heat to hurry it: the khoya burns in spots and tastes bitter instead of caramelised.
18 minStep 5: Spread the mixture into the greased tray, level it about 2cm thick and leave to set at room temperature for at least 2 hours, until firm enough to slice cleanly.
120 minStep 6: Cut into fingers about 5cm long. Spread 3 ½ oz white sugar-coated poppy seeds (bal mithai balls) or tiny white nonpareils on a plate, press each finger into them while it's still very slightly tacky and roll so all sides are coated. Store in an airtight box for up to a week.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 230 kcal
- Protein
- 7 g
- Carbs
- 28 g
- Fat
- 10 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does bal mithai take?
- About 45 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 35 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 10 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
- What can I use instead of ghee?
- Butter, same amount (keep the heat a little lower, butter burns sooner).
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