Indian Mithai and the Reducing-Milk Tradition — Khoya, Burfi, and the Slow Pan

Indian mithai (मिठाई — sweet, sweets, confection) encompasses hundreds of regional preparations unified by a common technique at their foundation: the reduction of milk. Full-fat buffalo milk (or cow's milk in many regions) is cooked in a wide, heavy pan (a kadhai) over sustained heat, stirred continuously, until it loses 50%, 60%, 70%, 80% of its volume — the degree of reduction producing different materials with different properties. This reducing-milk system has no parallel in any other confectionery tradition and produces textures and flavour compounds that no other technique can replicate. The Maillard reaction between milk proteins and lactose during prolonged heat produces a flavour that is simultaneously caramel-sweet, slightly grainy, intensely dairy-rich, and faintly savoury — the foundational flavour of most North Indian mithai.

The reducing-milk products, in order of progressive reduction:

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