SWEET BEGINNINGS
Sweet-making in India can be traced back to the ancient Vedic texts (sometime around 1,000 BCE), which make references to the presence of milk-based sweets during rituals and festive occasions.
Almost all mithai begins with the hours-long process of boiling down and constantly stirring whole milk till it reduces it to a sweet sludge. To this base is added ingredients like khoya (fragrant fudge-like milk solids), nuts, chickpea flour or rice; and flavourings like rosewater, cardamom or saffron, depending on the type of mithai being made.
Some retailers swap the reduction of whole milk for more convenient options like milk powder or condensed milk, even if mithai lovers say that these handy substitutes affect the taste of the resulting dessert. “The creaminess of the milk just doesn’t come through as much,” said Ramasamy.
Superlative mithai is the result of superlative ingredients. Freshly shelled and ground pistachios make for burfi with more earthy depth. Freshly grated coconut flesh imbues laddoo with a deep richness that desiccated coconut cannot even begin to replicate. Once moulded, some mithai are fried in ghee, others soaked in sugar syrup, and yet others requiring both. Think of the time and effort required of every step. Is it any wonder that few people make mithai at home?