Sindhi Khoya: a traditional winter delicacy

Prepared mainly with milk, dry dates and nuts, Sindhi khoya is a delicious specialty Sindhi mithai from the Sindhi cuisine and usually made only in winters. Sindhi khoya is loaded with ghee and nuts and is super nutritious, making it an ideal winter recipe.

Sindhi khoya is not easily available in mithai shops; if you’re lucky you may get it in a shop that specialises in Sindhi foods. But there’s nothing like the homemade khoya. That’s why we are sharing the authentic Sindhi Khoya recipe with you.

Preparing Sindhi Khoya requires lots of patience and time, so make sure you have an abundance of these two on the day you’re making it. Sindhi khoya stays good in the refrigerator for up to a month, so you can make a large batch and just refrigerate it. To serve, just add 1-2 tbsp milk to the serving and heat on a stove.

The important thing to remember is that this Sindhi khoya recipe must be cooked on a low flame to get the perfect taste and consistency. You can reduce or increase the proportion of nuts as you like. This is very calorie dense food, so a little goes a long way. It’s rich in healthy fats, but be sure to control your portion size.

Traditional Sindhi Khoya Recipe

Ingredients

• Milk 2.5 litres
• Dry dates [khaareek or chuara] 200 – 250g
• Poppy seeds [khuskhus] 100g
• Cardamom 25 – 30 [powdered]
• Nutmeg powder 1/2 tsp
• Sugar 300g [can be adjusted as per your taste preference]
• Ghee 200g
• Almonds 50g [chopped]
• Walnuts 25g [chopped]
• Cashews 25g [halved]
• Coriander seeds [dhaniya magaz] 3 – 4  tbsp [coarsely ground]

Method

1. Wash and pound the dry dates. Discard the seeds. The dates should be coarsely broken, not powdered.
2. Heat the milk. When it boils, lower the flame. Now rest of the cooking has to be done on low flame. Add the broken dry dates to the milk and let it cook till they soften. This will take about 15 – 20 mins.
3. Now turn off the flame and leave this overnight or for 6-7 hours. You may leave it outside or refrigerate. Letting this mixture stand for few hours helps the dry dates to soften completely and gives them a “melt in mouth” consistency, which is what makes the khoya so delicious.
4. The next day, heat some ghee [just enough for frying nuts] in a frying pan. Fry the almonds, cashews and walnuts and add them to the milk-date mixture. Take care to not brown/burn the nuts.
5. Also fry the poppy seeds, coriander seeds and cardamom powder in ghee, again being careful to not burn it. Add these ingredients too to the milk.
6. Now place the milk vessel on low flame and let it cook, stirring occasionally to make sure it does not burn at the bottom. Add the remaining ghee to the milk mixture. Keep cooking till the milk browns and only then add sugar. Stir till the sugar has melted in.
7. Keep cooking on low flame till the mixture dries up. Turn off the flame and add nutmeg [jaiphal] powder. Your sindhi khoya is ready.