Mithai

Ingredients

Dough

• 500 gplain flour
• 1/2 tspsalt
• 1/2 tspground cardamom
• 1/2 tspgrated nutmeg
• 60 gbutter or ghee, softened
• 180 mlevaporated milk, or full-fat milk
• 1 tspvanilla extract

For frying

• 1 litrevegetable oil

Sugar glaze

• 400 ggranulated sugar
• 150 mlwater
• 1/2 tspground cinnamon, if wanted
• 1 tspvanilla extract

To serve

• as part of a Diwali plate
• with tea

Directions

1. Put the flour, salt, cardamom and nutmeg in a large bowl. Rub in the softened butter with your fingertips. Work it until the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs. Add the vanilla to the evaporated milk. Pour it in gradually and bring it to a dough. Add it a little at a time, since flours vary.
2. Knead it for five minutes on a lightly floured surface. It should be smooth and firm rather than soft. Wrap it and rest it for thirty minutes. Divide the dough into four pieces and keep three covered. Roll one piece out to about half a centimetre thick. Roll it evenly, since thin spots will burn. Cut it into strips about a centimetre wide.
3. Cut across those strips into pieces about five centimetres long. That scoring helps the glaze cling. Heat the oil in a deep pan to about 170C. Test with one piece: it should rise and sizzle steadily. Fry them for six to eight minutes. Turn them occasionally with a slotted spoon. They should be a deep even gold.
4. Take one out and let it cool for a minute to test it. It should snap rather than bend. Lift them onto a rack lined with paper. Let them cool completely before glazing. A warm piece will melt the glaze rather than taking it.
5. Put the sugar and water in a wide heavy pan. Heat it until the sugar dissolves, then stop stirring. Boil it steadily for about six minutes. You need the soft ball stage, at around 115C. Drop a little into cold water. It should form a soft ball you can flatten between your fingers. Take it off the heat the moment it reaches that point.
6. Stir in the vanilla and the cinnamon. Coating them must be done fast. Tip all the cooled fried pieces into the pan at once. Stir hard with a wooden spoon so every piece is coated. Keep stirring as the syrup begins to crystallise.
7. Keep stirring until the pieces separate rather than clumping. Turn them out onto a tray and spread them apart. Let them cool completely on the tray. Break apart any that have stuck together. Pack them into an airtight tin. They keep for two or three weeks. Serve them as part of a Diwali plate or with tea.

Technique

• Fry them until they snap rather than bend, or they will go soft later.
• Cool them completely before glazing, since a warm piece melts the syrup.
• Keep stirring as the syrup crystallises, which is what forms the white coating.

Substitutions

• Full-fat milk in place of evaporated milk.
• Ghee in place of butter in the dough.

Variations

• With ginger in the glaze.
• Made thinner, as fine crisp sticks.
• Coloured pink, which some Guyanese makers do for festivals.

History

Brought by Indian indentured labourers and made for Diwali, weddings and prayer services; also called kurma.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mithai?

Mithai is a dessert from Guyana: fried dough sticks coated in sugar glaze, made for Hindu festivals. Brought by Indian indentured labourers and made for Diwali, weddings and prayer services; also called kurma.

How long does Mithai take to make?

Mithai takes 30 min plus 30 min resting of preparation and 40 min of cooking. The recipe makes about 40 pieces. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Mithai?

Yes, within limits. Full-fat milk in place of evaporated milk. Ghee in place of butter in the dough.

What is the most important thing to get right in Mithai?

Knead it for five minutes on a lightly floured surface. It should be smooth and firm rather than soft. Wrap it and rest it for thirty minutes. Divide the dough into four pieces and keep three covered. Roll one piece out to about half a centimetre thick. Roll it evenly, since thin spots will burn. Cut it into strips about a centimetre wide.