Khova :

   My mom's native place is a small village in Srikakulam district in Andhra Pradesh. Every summer we used to spend our holidays there. I remember there was a sweet vendor near my house where they used to sell a dish called Plate Kova. This was sold in glass bottles and we used to literally empty it in just two days. And whenever anyone came from the village to visit us they definitely used to get this particular sweet. This was one of my favourite dishes in my childhood.

   Today I want to share the recipe for kova 
- which is nothing but Plate Kova cooked further and cut into pieces. This is, I should admit, a time consuming process. I generally prepare this in the afternoons when I am not too busy. Here, the milk is cooked on a slow flame until it solidifies.

   This sweet is so delicious that it just melts in your mouth. My hubby just loves this dish and often takes it to office to share it with his friends. The dish is worth the effort. Once you taste the sweet, you will forget the effort you have taken to prepare the dish. And of course, the compliments that you would receive from your family.

  Straight to the recipe :

We need whole milk that is rich in cream for this sweet. Take this milk in a big pan or wok and cook on low flame.

Keep stirring continuously so that it doesn't get burnt at the bottom and cream should not be formed on the top layer of milk. Scrap the edges of the pan as well.

When the milk becomes almost half, add sugar and keep stirring continuously.

Keep on stirring because we don't want the taste of burnt milk.
Now we can see the colour has changed to cream.

Now if you see the below picture, it is still watery, but there are some amount of solids as well. This is the right consistency for Plate Kova that I mentioned earlier in the introduction. So if you wish, you can switch off at this point, allow it to cool and transfer to a glass bottle and refrigerate it. This will stay good for upto a week if refrigerated. I love it this way, but my family likes as cut pieces, especially my hubby and my daughter. So, I have continued with the cooking process.

This has formed to a lump and has started leaving the pan.

It has to come to a dropping consistency.

Take a plate and grease with ghee.

Transfer this mixture to the greased plate and spread evenly. Allow it to cool. Put it in the fridge for an hour so that it gets set.

Remove and cut into diamonds or cut into desired shapes with a cookie cutter.

Enjoy with your family and friends.

Ingredients :

Milk  2 litres
Sugar 2 cups
Ghee 2 tsp

Preparation :

1. Take whole milk in a big wok or pan and cook on low flame.
2. Keep stirring continuously to avoid burning at the bottom of the pan. If it gets burnt at the bottom then the sweet will have a burnt smell and taste.
3. Make sure that there is no cream formed at the top layer of the milk.
4. Keep on stirring continuously until it almost becomes half.
5. Add sugar at this stage and mix well.
6. Keep stirring continuously ( I know your hands might hurt, but you can take it as a good exercise for your hands - on a positive note ).
7. When it almost solidifies and leaves the pan, switch off the flame and transfer to a greased plate.
8. Let it cool and put in the fridge for an hour for the sweet to set.
9. Cut into desired shapes and a soft melt in mouth sweet is ready.

This sweet stays good for 3-4 days when refrigerated.

Notes :

1. You can add elaichi to give that extra flavour.
2. You can also sprinkle some melon seeds on top of the sweet.
3. You can garnish with any dry fruits of your choice.
4. You can also decorate it with silver foil.

This sweet can be prepared for parties or festive days before hand and preserved.