Milk Peda

Peda is a very popular Indian sweet. Usually soft and chewy, it is made from dried whole milk and sugar. Traditionally, they are made by boiling milk for hours and reducing it to get to the chewy consistency which is called khoa. They are then rolled into various forms and sizes. Now who has the time or patience to do that...not me! So here comes this amazingly simple recipe that I found while browsing for quick recipes on pedas. I wasn't sure it would work but it did! And I must say they are absolutely as delicious as the traditional pedas :)

Well it makes sense...'coz here we are combining milk powder and condensed milk; both being concentrated forms of milk, to make instant 'khoa'. Couple of pointers:

1. Make sure your milk powder is absolutely lump free so that it mixes well with the condensed milk to get a smooth mixture.
2. Always cook on very low flame as you do not want to burn the mixture or dry it completely.
3. Try and roll the pedas while they are still warm. With time they tend to dry out and then cracks appear while rolling - as you can see in my photos :D
4. Grease your hands with butter or ghee from time to time so that it is easy to roll and also grease the plate on which you place them. Leave it out for sometime as the pedas will harden with time. Then store them in air tight containers. Remember these are milk products so try and consume them within 2 to 3 days. You can refrigerate it for longer shelf life but they taste best at room temperature.

Milk Peda: Recipe
(Source: Easy Cook)

Ingredients:

• Nestle condensed milk - 1 large tin
• Full cream milk powder (I used Nido) - 2 cups
• Butter - 100 gm

Method:

1. Melt butter in a deep, non sticky pan.
2. Pour the condensed milk and stir.
3. Add the milk powder and stir quickly to combine everything well making sure there are no lumps.
4. Keep stirring on a low flame till the whole mixture starts leaving off the sides of the pan and becomes doughy. When you can roll the mixture it is ready.
5. Allow it to cool for few minutes. Grease you hands and roll them into shapes of your choice. How easy is that!!

Statutory warning: If you have a bad sweet tooth then you may not want to try this. Once you realise how easy it is you may never want to stop making them ;)