Mawa Kachoriमावा कचौरी
⏱ Prep 30m🍳 Cook 45m🍽 Serves 10🌿 Vegetarian
Video: Chef Bhupi's kitchen (YouTube)
Mawa Kachori is Jodhpur's most indulgent sweet — a crisp, golden deep-fried pastry shell stuffed with a richly spiced filling of mawa (khoya) and chopped dry fruits, then dunked in fragrant sugar syrup and served warm, dripping and glistening. Where the savoury kachori is Rajasthan's everyday street food, mawa kachori is its festive alter ego, sold by the famous sweet shops of Clock Tower market and eaten during weddings, Diwali, and Holi. The contrast of the shatteringly crisp shell and the dense, cardamom-perfumed mawa interior is unlike any other mithai.
📍 Make it in Plano
This recipe is the same everywhere — but where you buy the ingredients and eat the dish is local to you.
Finding Desi spots near Plano…
Ingredients
- For the pastry shell
- ▪maida (all-purpose flour)250 g
- ▪ghee (for moyan/shortening into flour)4 tbsp
- ▪cold wateras needed (approx. 80-90 ml)
- For the mawa filling
- ▪mawa / khoya (unsweetened, crumbled)200 g
- ▪mixed dry fruits — almonds, cashews, pistachios, raisins — finely chopped60 g
- ▪sugar (for filling)3 tbsp
- ▪green cardamom, finely ground3/4 tsp
- ▪fennel seeds (saunf), coarsely crushed1/2 tsp
- For the sugar syrup
- ▪sugar300 g
- ▪water200 ml
- ▪rose water1 tsp
- ▪ghee or neutral oil, for deep fryingfor deep frying
🌍 Cooking abroad? Substitutions
- Mawa (khoya) is the most critical ingredient and can be found in the refrigerated section of most Indian grocery stores in the UK, US, Canada, and Australia, either fresh or frozen. Alternatively, make a quick substitute: simmer 400 ml of full-fat milk with 4 tablespoons of milk powder and 2 tablespoons of ghee over low heat, stirring constantly, until it reduces to a thick, fudge-like mass (about 20-25 minutes).
- Maida (refined wheat flour) is the standard for the crisp kachori shell. Plain all-purpose flour is an identical substitute available in any supermarket worldwide.
- For the sugar syrup, a candy thermometer makes hitting one-string consistency easier — aim for 105-107°C. If you prefer a lighter coating, dip the kachoris for just 1 minute rather than the full soak.
Method
- 1Make the pastry dough: rub 4 tablespoons of ghee into the maida with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs and holds together when pressed — this is the moyan that gives the shell its flakiness. Gradually add cold water, a little at a time, and knead into a firm, smooth dough (firmer than chapati dough). Cover with a damp cloth and rest for 20 minutes.
- 2Make the filling: heat a dry, heavy pan over low heat. Add the crumbled mawa and stir continuously for 5-7 minutes until it softens and turns a shade deeper, releasing a nutty, milky aroma. Take off the heat and let cool for 5 minutes. Stir in the sugar, ground cardamom, crushed fennel seeds, and the chopped dry fruits. Mix well. The filling should be moist but hold its shape when rolled. Divide into 10-12 equal balls.
- 3Make the sugar syrup: combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Simmer for 5-6 minutes until you reach a one-string consistency (a drop between your fingers forms a thin thread). Stir in the rose water, keep warm on the lowest heat.
- 4Divide the rested dough into 10-12 equal portions. Roll each into a small disc about 8 cm in diameter. Place a ball of mawa filling in the centre, gather the edges of the dough up around it and pinch firmly to seal — no gaps or the filling will leak. Gently flatten into a thick disc, pressing carefully so as not to burst the shell.
- 5Heat ghee or oil in a kadhai to 150°C (300°F) — lower than usual for frying. Slide in the kachoris in small batches. Fry on low-medium heat for 12-15 minutes, turning gently, until they are evenly deep golden and the shell is completely cooked through and crisp. High heat will brown the outside while leaving the inside raw. Remove and drain briefly.
- 6While still hot, lower the kachoris into the warm sugar syrup and let them soak for 2-3 minutes, turning once, so the syrup coats and seeps into the shell.
- 7Lift out, place on a serving plate, and garnish with extra slivered pistachios and almonds. Serve warm.
A Desi.Net original recipe · part of our Indian Cuisine library. Confirm details and adjust to taste.