Kurma is one of those snacks I fondly recall buying with my daily school allowance at recess and at lunch break as it was not something regularly made at home and which kid does not like sweets? Mind-you, come Divali time, mom’s cousin who was a Hindu would always invite us to her home to celebrate with her family where she would prepare an assortment of desserts and snacks along with a ton of curry dishes (good times). Yea, I live for these occasions as she would make some of the best Kurma I’ve ever had.
You’ll Need…
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoon butter
1 cup evaporated milk
pinch salt
1 1/2 cups sugar (white)
1/2 cup water
thick slice of ginger
1/2 cinnamon stick
Veg oil for frying. (about 2-3 cups)
We’ve got to make the dough so it can rest for a few minutes before we get to making the actual kurma… so in a bowl place the flour, pinch of salt and butter and work with your fingers. It will get like little pebbles. Now start adding the evaporated milk..start with 1/2 and add as needed. Knead until you have a smooth dough ball. Add milk as needed.
Cover with plastic wrap or a tea towel and allow to rest for about 15 minutes. The following step is my moms way of making it easier to cut the individual kurma and not necessarily the traditional way. The traditional way would be to simply roll out and cut…fry!
Dust your surface with flour and roll out the dough ball into a large circle.. the size of your tawa (a griddle or non stick frying pan will also work). Heat the tawa on a medium flame, then place the rolled out dough (about 1/4 inch thick) on it, leave for 10 seconds, flip and cook another 10 seconds. You ONLY looking for the dough to set a bit.
Place the now slightly firm rolled out dough onto your cutting board and cut into strips about 1/2 inch thick and about 3 inches long. As you do so, heat your vegetable oil (medium flame) in a wide pan (we used a small Wok) so when we fry the kurma there won’t be oil spilling over the high edges onto the stove.
Have a large metal bowl handy! Now gently place the cut kurma into the heated oil and cook (flip around) until they are golden brown. Takes about 2-4 minutes. Drain and place them immediately into the metal bowl. Remember the metal bowl will heat as you add the fried kurma to it, so handle with care.
In a sauce pan place the water, sugar, cinnamon and ginger over a medium flame and bring to a boil. Allow this to reduce until it thickens up. You’re looking for a thick syrup consistency (coat the back of a spoon). Now pour this liquid over the fried kurma and mix fast and well. The goal is to coat all the fried kurma with this heavenly syrup. It will cool fast, so this step needs quick action. Remember what I said earlier about the metal bowl getting hot to handle. Remove the ginger and cinnamon stick and get ready to enjoy!
The melted sugar will give the kurma a sort of frosting as it cools, so do keep that in mind when serving these to your kids (no need for a sugar rush/overload). Store in a air tight container to maintain it’s freshness.. can store for about 5-7 days.
Special thanks to mom for assisting me with this recipe.. the woman is pure gold oui! Yea.. dad is treating to take legal action against me for not mentioning his participation in some of the recipes on here. So I’m obliged to give him a big-up! Play yourself pops. Maybe I’ll do a series of videos with him in the coming months.
Before you go, don’t forget to check out the latest cooking videos, connect with me on twitter and join our community on facebook. Oh yea! leave me a comment below – it’s appreciated.
Based on 52 Review(s)
Whenever I make I put coconut, but the sugar tends to melt off after a day…..
Awesome
Is it ok to make the dough in advance and freeze it?
I have a question. Do I leave the kurma in the metal bowl to cool completely? I found it hardened into a large bunch. Any suggestions?
Good Morning,
This is simple to make and fantastic. I am going to make this for sure.
Have A Great Day!
Maritza
Please note. SALT is not used in making KURMA. especially for religious festival such as Diwali etc. This is made as an offering to the Hindu Gods when made for the festivals, and salt is not offered to the Gods.
Thanks
As a snack (I’m not Hindu nor is this made in my case for any religious ceremony) , it needs salt. Using your logic for no salt, then nothing Hindus eat should have salt? I say this as I’ve seen just abut all foods (cooked and raw) offered at ceremonies. I think it should be cleared (stated) that foods prepared for ceremonies (if correct) is not prepared with salt. While everyday meals can be prepared with salt.
Hi, My mum used to make this for us when we lived in Jamaica….omg…..I’ve not seen this since….thank you so mch for this…..xxxx
I was blessed to have a Trini Mom for a couple years before she passed. Your recipes all make me cry for her! She called me her Trinameri. I’m going to get back to NYC this month, and I can’t wait to get my favorite kurma from Singh’s Roti Shop in Queens! This looks exactly like it, so I might have to make this before I go! Thank you for sharing your recipes! ☺️
Hello. This recipe is amazing, it turned out amazing! One problem though, the liquid took awhile to boil and get to that point, is it supposed to take like 15-20 minutes? Also, there was a lot of excess sugar at the bottom, did I put too much or is it supposed to be like that? The sugar kind of clumped up even though I flipped it around like you said. Besides this it was amazing!
Hi Chris, I enjoyed your Kurma (Mitthai) , I try making it
it came out just like your Video that I watched. My problem is
I would love to make it “Crunchy” and it did not come out that way. Can you please tell me why? It is soft and I really like
to know how to make it “Crunch”
Thank you, hoping to hear from you.
Rita Harris
Try to fry them a little bit longer. Also make your spices a little dinner in this case I guess smaller that way it doesn’t take too long to fry
How do u serve them? Hot, cold or room temperature? I would like to make these today for my girl scouts to eat tomorrow. What would you suggest?
cool and the last for a few days (seal container)
Hi Chris hope u are in good spirits. Ok I tried d kurma and they came out good but were soft. How do I get them more of a crunchy texture.
Awaiting your response and also still waiting for the fudge demo. Lol.
Thanks as always.
Hi,
Thanks so much for the recipe. I’m pregnant and was craving kurma, so glad i saw your site. It came out really good. Please continue to share …
I tried this recipe twice and it came out soft not crunchy. It tasted really good just need to be more crunchy and I am not sure how to make it more crunchy. I tried cooking it more but still not crunchy.
the temp of the oil may have to be a bit higher.
Hi I just adapted this recipe and baked the dough instead of frying, it came out well. it’s my new version.. thanks.
This recipe came out really good, exactly the way I like, crunchy….not too sweet….
I did not get the crunch ):
Hi Chris
My mum does the sugar cakes as well but she puts in a little sweetened milk to make them a little softer when you eat them.
Hi Chris
Thanks for this tip, am going to try it now… Happy Holidays!
Meh love kurma yuh see….But never made always bring them up from Trinidad,My buddy girl friend kurma is boss. I love to taste GINGER in my kurma..I will try this since i am a Kurma lover.
Thank you so much for the awesome recipe and video! I made it for my family today for Diwali and it is delicious!!!!
mine not comin out rite
I would like to believe I have the perfect kurma recipe and mines doesnt call for all this liquid, I usually do condensed milk instead of evaporated as well. I would try 1 tablesppon of condensed milk for ever cup of flour and although the recipe calls for 1/2 cup water just add enough water to bind the ingredients into a ball. The dough should be dry and hard.These alterations should make for the perfect cruncy kurma!
The water in the recipe is not for the dough, its for d syrup. Wow! Lol!
Very interesting recipe. Excited to try it out!:)
Missing home Chris, thanks for sharing this recipe.
good stuff moms
looks yummy
Hi i was searching for a great recipe and after comparing yours to others i found i think im gonna try yours right now… my daughters are eager to make kurma too so i will let you know how it came out ok. Thanks for taking the time to share your recipe and say hello and thank you to your mums and pops for us ok.
I tried this and it came out great, I also added grated ginger to the dough as I loooove the ginger flavor Ymm Eeee…no need to spend $2:50 per bag of kurma in my local West Indian cuisine here in New Jersey and there’s about 1handful of kurma in the bag and it isn’t as crunchy as this. Thanks again Chris. 🙂
My family is from San Fernando, Trinidad and we love eating kurma ! I’m so happy you decided to share this receipe, I can’t wait to make it . Meh mouth watering already !!!!! 🙂