Peda

         पेढा

Cooked, tested & tasted by: Sharada Marathe

Photo credit: Sharada Marathe

Course: Sweet
Cooking time: 20 minutes. (3 hours defrost,4 hours resting time )
Serving size: 35 medium sized pedas
 

Ingredients:

• 1kg khava/khoya (evaporated milk) 
• 250 gm sugar
•  10 cardamom pods
• 1 whole nutmeg
• 10-12 crushed saffron strands.

Procedure:

1. Pulse the store bought frozen khava in a mixie or defrost it for about 3 hours. 
2.  Place a heavy bottom pan on a low flame.
3. Add the khava and sugar together.
4. Mix both well.
5. Stir continuously to prevent khava from sticking to the pan.
6.   As the sugar melts, water would be released. 
7. The mixture would get liquid consistency.
8. Keep stirring non-stop to prevent the mixture from getting brown and sticking to the pan.
9. Continue stirring till the mixture thickens and leaves sides of the pan. 
10.  Take a small portion in a plate and see if it easily rolls into a non-sticky ball. 
11.   Do not cook beyond this point or the peda will become chewy.
12. Take it off the flame. Pour the mixture in a plate.
13. Add saffron and nutmeg. Mix well.
14. Roll the mixture using a pata varvanta/polpat with a rolling pin to smoothen it out
15. Let it cool.
16. After 4 hours, knead the mixture very well. 
17.  Take a small portion from the mixture, knead it from the base of your palm before you roll it into a ball. 
18. Flatten each ball.

  Above: Initial stages of roasting

                                 Above: Almost done

   Above: Rolls into a non-sticky ball

  Above: Kneading

Tips:

• You could use a peda maker to give it shape. 
•  The total cooking time inclusive of defrosting and resting the mixture is about 7 hours.
• Kneading it very well gives it a very soft texture.
• The pedas remain a little moist after rolling them. They taste best the next day.
• 250gm of khoya yields about 10 pedas
• For yellow pedas, add saffron dissolved in warm milk to the mixture.

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