Peda/Milk fudge/Doodh peda

Peda is an Indian sweet known by different names .It is a delicate milk fudge which melts in your mouth like butter. 

Thank goodness I don't run a bakery of my own because I would not be able to sell even one peda.Yes..I  am addicted to this sweet.If my tusker reads it he would say ,"tell me! which sweet is not your favorite?"hmmm... i admit I cannot resist sweets...but peda in particular brings back  sweet memories of childhood.

The bakery near my house always had a big pile of pedas looking like white  round marble pieces arranged like a pyramid.As I enter the shop my nose senses the strong sweet smell of sugary milk  and my eyes without fail hits straight on the pyramid.The bakery guy asks me  directly how many i want.He never bothered to ask which item in the glass case I want  because I guess I made it a routine purchase .Oh!! his shop had a big stock of pastries too that i used to love.OK in short I made the guy rich:))

Peda is traditionally made with khoa(whole milk solidified ) I am using ricotta cheese instead.

Ingredients:

Ricotta cheese-15 0z (1 small can)

Unsalted butter-1/2 stick+little more for shaping (at room                      temperature)

Sugar-3/4 cup

Milk powder-3/4 cup

Cardamom powder-1/2 tsp

Method:

1.Heat a heavy bottom pan , add little butter to it and ricotta cheese.Keep stirring.Work on a medium to low heat or it might get burnt .Once burnt the stuff cannot be rescued. 

     2.When the water starts to evaporate add the milk powder and sugar,continue stirring by adding butter 1 tsp at a time. Now u will see it starts to separate from sides of the pan stop adding butter .Add cardamom powder towards the end only .

3.Turn off heat when the whole thing becomes a big lump and u can stir no more.

4.Let the mixture cool down to tolerable heat . Apply some butter in the palms of your hands and quickly shape them into round ball then flatten it with any design of your choice.I used bottle lid and bottle bottom for molding  into required shape and design.
5.Once completely cool keep it in air tight container .Do not stack it as it has a tendency to stick layer it with parchment paper in between if u have to.
Stays good for up to 4 days in room temperature.Refrigerate next day if u are living in warmer climate.

Peda is an excellent sweet dish for giving as prasad ,potluck etc..just make sure u put each piece in a cupcake liner so it stays intact.
You can decorate with almond or pistachios flakes.

Note

1.The mixture dries out fast once u remove from heat so work quickly to shape it  .If u find that the rounds are not forming and breaking apart add little bit more butter and reshape it .

2.I made around 30 small pedas with the given quantity of ingredients.

Do send me your feedback .