My grandmother's mithai is a sweet that makes Hindu holidays feel even more special. Her soft mithai is made with flour, butter, fresh coconut, anise seed, and evaporated milk. It's fried till golden brown then tossed in a sugar syrup until crystallized. She only made these on Hindu holidays such as Diwali and Holi, and other religious functions. These sweets were just one among many that we enjoyed during auspicious times of year. We also made peera, a crunchy mithai/kurma, and parsad. It was a fun time and I loved spending time with my mom and grandma in the kitchen. It was a sort of bonding time that I've come to truly appreciate as an adult. Now that she lives in India and I live in upstate NY, if I want these delicious treats, I have to make them myself. I decided that I was only going to make two different sweets this year. My family would make 5-6 different kinds, but what would I do with all that sugary goodness in my house? I decided to make this mithai and a milk powder peera (see end of post).
Every Diwali my mom used to make so many tasty sweet treats. We would package and give them away to friends and family members. Likewise our family members would send over little bags filled with mithai, peera, and parsad.
Method:
Diwali Gift Bags
I made a trip to Michael's Arts and Crafts store. Altogether I only spent $9 for all the materials. I bought metallic gold paper bags with a beautiful burgundy ribbon, very festive. I think they turned out amazing, what do you think?
Milk Powder Peera
I made these and added some extra cardamom, it turned out wonderful.
Check out my recipe for these https://www.alicaspepperpot.com/milk-powder-peda/
Soft Mithai
Ingredients
- *For the Dough
- 4 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon white sugar
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 cup freshly grated coconut (frozen grated works also)
- 1 ½ sticks butter, diced
- 3 teaspoon anise seed
- 1 12oz tin evaporated milk
- Vegetable or canola oil for frying
- *For the sugar syrup:
- 1 ½ cup white granulated sugar
- 1 cup water
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
Instructions
- Mix the flour, baking powder, anise seed, and chopped butter. Keep mixing by hand until the dough is crumbly or you can put everything into a food processor. Add coconut to the dough and mix well.
- Pour the entire can of evaporated milk into the mixture and knead to form a dough ball. Add flour/ water if needed, to bring everything together. Cover with a damp paper towel set aside and let it sit for about 30-40 minutes. (the damp napkin keeps the dough from forming a crust)
- Place dough ball on counter/cutting board and cut dough into quarters. Work with one quarter at a time. Sprinkle flour on the working space and roll the quarter with a rolling pin to about ¾ in thickness. If you roll it thinner your mithai won't be as thick and soft but rather more crunchy, if that is how you prefer it then roll it thinner.
- In a pot, fill oil ⅓ of the way up the pot and let the oil heat on medium-low.
- In the meantime cut mithai into little diamond shapes and set aside till ready for frying.
- The temperature of the oil should be around 280 degrees. Test one mithai to see if it is cooked all the way through before frying the entire batch.
- Once the oil is ready, place mithai in oil and let it cook slowly, keep turning to brown evenly on both sides. Cook all the mithai and set aside in a pot or bowl big enough to toss with the syrup.
- Combine sugar, water, and vanilla, if using. Simmer on low for about 35 minutes. Test sugar in water to see if it has reached the "soft ball" stage. Use a small spoon to drop a little bit of sugar mixture into a glass of cold water. If the sugar keeps its shape, it's reached soft ball stage, a term used in candy making.
- When sugar is ready, pour over mithai and toss using a large mixing spoon until sugar starts to dry and crystalize.
Anonymous says
Looks Delicious!!! I just might try it this afternoon!! I love love the bags!! I may have to steal your idea for Nicholas's Jhandee!! Ravena
Cynthia says
Happy Diwali!
Your grand mother's mithai makes me wish I was in Guyana right now. I am definitely going to give your mithai recipe a try - when I have company to help me eat it otherwise, it could be dangerous having those morels of sweet fried dough around the house 🙂
Quick question for confirmation, the cup measurements you referred to are measuring cups right?
Kamal Fazil says
Hi Alicia,
I like your way of describing methods.
I have a question, which flour is best for soft mithai, unbleached or pre-sifted.
Kamal
Alica says
Hi Kamal, thank you! I always use unbleached all-purpose flour for this recipe and you can sift it with a mesh strainer over a mixing bowl or simply with a whisk.
Ms. Gourmet Express says
Hi Cynthia!!
I was patiently awaiting your post yesterday and finally I saw those beautiful peeras!! I wish I could have eaten the computer screen!
Also, yes, I am referring to measuring cups. I called my grandmother for this recipe and she said, put two pot spoons of sugar for the syrup and I said "grandma no one measures things that way." Old ladies never use measuring cups, I guess they just know the measurements from their heads!
I hope you try the recipe, let me know how it turns out.
Best,
Alica
Daal House Girl says
Wow! I just finished making the Soft Mithai and it is wonderful on a rainy afternoon. My twist was adding a piece of fresh orange peel to the syrup as it boiled and a few cardamom seeds to the dough. Yum, yum. I am happy. Thank you very much.
Daal House Girl says
Forgot to mention that I used Flavor Mate Vanilla Essence (200 ml for $2.75) made in Guyana. Not meaning to plug a particular brand but I have to. This "Tastes (just) Like Home! (Hi Cynthia). http://www.littleguyanabakeshop.com/grocery.php?catid=4&page=4
Amelia H says
Alica,
I've been using your recipes for a few years now and I've only just read the "About" section of your blog, shame on me! You're a beautiful woman by the way! I just wanted to say thank you for such a great service, not favor, but a service. I suppose I never really thought about how much hard work goes into preparing these recipes and taking pictures and then having to blog about it all--for FREE! So thank you, thank you for the amazing job you do and for these fantastic recipes. I'm sure there are hundreds of West Indians out there (Guyanese in particular) who are looking for recipes and would like instructions a bit more specific than "a pot spoon of this" or "lil bit ah dat" or my personal favorite "some"!
Now, about these mithai, they turned out GREAT! Thank you once again for a fantastic recipe, only one thing went wrong! Guess who burned their finger with hot sugary syrup? This girl right here 🙁 I got a little over enthusiastic! Anyways, I can proudly have my dad share it with his coworkers tomorrow for Diwali. I'll sit here while this burn ointment does its job and peruse your other recipes! 😉
Love and best wishes,
Amelia H
Alica says
Amelia,
I am SO late in replying to your message, I'm not sure how I missed it! Sheesh! Thank you so much for your kind comments. It is indeed a lot of work and a long process to getting one recipe posted, but this is my passion and I am so happy to share my family's recipes with the world. Really glad to hear the recipe turned out well. I will let my grandmother know, she'll be happy to hear that! And so sorry to hear about your burning your finger! That's definitely happened to me!
annmarie jones says
I'm making these tomorrow, thanks alot. My grate grandma made these but she's gone to better place now so I didn't get the recipe. Thanks alot. I'm dreading the coconut grating lol
1977juliet says
I love mithai. Thank you for sharing your grandma's recipe.
Kamal says
Hi Alica, I have your recipe several times and it looks perfect. Really nice of you taking all that trouble to get the recipe. Small or big question, how long do you fry mothers? With a 3/4" thick dough, I am guessing 4 minutes.
Kamal Fazil says
Hi there Alicia, love your little details, helps in making a an excellent product. I was wondering how long would you fry the mithai? I usually go for 5 minutes but I feel it is too long and then again, I don't want half cooked mithai
Savita Brijram says
Hi, I am Savita I just want to say a few about your Grandma's Mithai. I love your grandma's Mithai recipe. And I love Mithai as well. I try the recipe today and it turn out just perfect. And I must say your Grandma's Mithai recipe is perfect. I love it and it's so amazing that you share it with so many people. It's so delicious and I also share a few of it with families and friends and they love it. That's so so amazing. Thanks to your Grandma and also thanks to you.
Savita Brijram says
Hi, I am Savita and I just want to say a few about your Grandma's Mithai. I love your Grandma's Mithai recipe and I love Mithai as well. Your Grandma's Mithai recipe is perfect and amazing. Today I try your Grandma's Mithai recipe and it turn our just perfect and it's delicious, I also share some with families and friends and they love it. Thanks to your Grandma and also thanks to you for sharing the recipes with so many people.
Kamal Fazil says
Hi there Alicia, love your little details, helps in making a an excellent product. I was wondering how long would you fry the mithai? I usually go for 5 minutes but I feel it is too long and then again, I don't want half cooked mithai
JudyB says
Hi Alica,
I tried this recipe for the first time today for Divali. My partner in crime was a friend from Guyana. We forgot to put the sugar in the dough but it still turned out great. The texture is so light and buttery...I couldn't stop eating them! Had to give half away...too much sweet doughy goodness in the house. Love these!!!
Mary says
Dying to try this. Been a favourite for my childhood.
Allison says
Hi Alica thank you for sharing your grandma's recipe it was awesome my family and friends enjoyed it. I once ordered some from an indian restaurant in queens but was very disappointed as was nothing like I remembered so I stayed away but tried your recipe and loved it. Will do it again.
Thx
Marie says
Hi Alica,
Hope all's well. Just one question, can coconut powder in the packet be used here instead of freshly grated coconut?
Alica says
Hi Marie,
Hmm I've never tried that, but I say give it a go and let us know how it turns out!
Sathya says
Hi thanks for the wonderful recipe but for butter it is how many kilograms we don't have butter sticks.
Sao says
Alicia, you're certainly Google translate for all west indian mothers/grandmothers!
All my life it's been "a handful of this, a bit of that, and some of this". Much thanks to you I can now make lots of the recipes I feared in the past.
I'd like to try the soft mithai but would prefer to make a smaller"half" batch.
May I ask if you can kindly suggest the measurement of ingredients to use - I know enough to not just divide everything in half - LOL
Vimla Hare says
Hi, I made these and they were delicious. Can I fry these ahead of time and put the syrup on later?
Alica says
Hi Vimla, yes you can make it ahead of time and add the syrup later, but I would recommend you do it all in one day to maintain freshness.
Ananda says
Tried this recipe back in 2020 for the very 1st time. It was delicious.
Tried again the following year.
And this year 2023 I'm trying it again today for the Diwali season.
As a Guyanese with indian in my blood , I enjoy sweet meats. Especially this mathai even the Pera.
Thank you Alica for sharing with us. 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
Alica says
Hi Ananda! I'm so happy to hear this recipe made it to 2023 for you, haha! Thanks for your comment :).
Nicole says
Hi, can we freeze half the dough and fry it later?
Alica says
Hi there, yes you can. On the day you decide to fry, take it out of the freezer to thaw and let it come to room temperature.