KESAR PEDA

                                                 KESAR PEDA

                                                (Yield: 12 Kesar Peda)

Peda is an all time favorite sweet in India.

Kesar Peda is saffron infused milk fudge.

It’s made from boiling and reducing milk into thick Mawa/Khoya and combined with fresh homemade paneer/ricotta cheese, sugar, saffron and cardamom.  Which is very labor intense and time consuming method, but when it comes to taste this peda are heavenly tasting compare to one made from ready made milk powder or ready to use ricotta cheese and sweetened condensed milk. By the way when it comes to cooking. I DON’T LIKE SHORTCUTS IN MY COOKING.

INGREDIENTS:

·      7 cups Whole Milk (3 to 3 ½ % Milk fat), divide in two portions (1) 4 cups milk to make mawa (2) 3 cups milk to make paneer

·      2 ½ T Lemon Juice and 1 ½ T Water mixture, to curdle 3 cups milk

·      1/3 cup Sugar or as per taste

·      3-4 Pinch saffron strands, crushed with pinch of sugar and mixed with 1 T Warm Milk

·      ½ tsp. Cardamom Powder

·      2 T Slivered Almond for garnishing OR Pistachios

·      2 Pinch Saffron Strands for garnishing

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LET’S COOK:

Crush saffron strands with pinch of sugar in mortar and pestle. Add 1-tablespoon warm milk and mix well. Keep aside.

Divide 7 cups of milk into two portions. (1) 4 cups Milk and (2) 3 cups Milk

Make paneer from 3 cups of milk. (For recipe look under “How To” Make Paneer) You will need 2 ½ T Lemon Juice and 1 ½ T Water mixture, to curdle 3 cups milk. Make paneer and keep aside

Reduce 4-cups milk into thick mawa (khoya) slurry. (For recipe look under “How to “make Mawa/Khoya)

Once it turns into thick mawa slurry add paneer and mix with applying little pressure with silicone spatula to smooth paneer grains and until it turns into thick paste on medium heat with continuous stirring.  

Add sugar, mix it and continue heating mixture (Once you add sugar mixture will turn soft) until further thickens with continuous stirring.

Add saffron milk and continue cooking till mixture thickens. (To preserve aroma of saffron, always try to add saffron at later stage of the cooking)

Once mixture starts to leave pan surface, switch off the heat.

Add cardamom powder and mix well. (If you add cardamom powder from beginning, volatile aromatic oil from cardamom will evaporate and it will reduce smell, so always insist on adding last in any recipe)

Allow cooling mixture until easy to handle.

Divide peda mixture into 12 equal portions.

Use peda mould/cookie mould to make uniform size peda. (I used small plastic container to make these peda.)

Add few slivered almonds and few strands of saffron at bottom of the plastic container and take some mixture and press into mould. Invert plastic container on plate and carefully unmould peda. 

If you do not have peda mould or small plastic container then roll each portion between greased palms (Grease palm with ghee/clarified butter) and give peda shape and press slivered almonds and few saffron strands on top.

Store peda in cardboard box container in cool, dry place, it should stay good for few days. It is better to consume within 2-3 days as milk product spoils faster.

Keep it in refrigerator it should stay good for couple of weeks.

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