Kesar Peda

For those of you who are searching for a quick and yummy recipe for this festival season, Kesar Peda is for you. It is a very easy and mouth watering Indian dessert which can be prepared in a very short amount of time with minimal ingredients. The aroma of saffron with the whole goodness of milk and a soft & grainy texture makes Peda a simple yet delicious dessert. The Peda gets its yellow color and a great flavor from the saffron (kesar).

p.s. Sorry, I couldn’t take step by step pictures for all my Diwali recipes as I was racing the clock to get everything done in a day. But, I hope the steps are detailed enough and clear.

Here’s what you need:

1. Heavy cream – 1 cup
2. Milk powder – 2 cups
3. Sugar – ½ cup
4. Cardamom (crushed) – ¼ tsp
5. Saffron – few strands
6. Milk (to soak the saffron) – 1 Tbsp
7. Pistachios (sliced) – 1 Tbsp

Directions:

1. Soak the strands of saffron in a tablespoon of milk and set aside
2. Add milk powder and heavy cream in a non-stick pan on low heat and mix it well till it becomes a thick batter of soft consistency.
3. Continue to cook the mixture for another 10-12 minutes in low medium heat till it becomes a lumpy like soft dough. Make sure to keep stirring it continuously and not letting it stick to the sides of the pan
4. Add cardamom and soaked cardamom in the above mixture and cook it for another 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and keep it aside. (The resulting mixture is known as khoya)
5. Add sugar into the khoya once it has become lukewarm (almost room temperature) and knead it to make it into soft dough
6. Divide the dough into 15-20 equal sized smooth balls using your palms and press a little in the middle to make a small impression
7. Garnish the pedas with sliced pistachios and serve it at room temperature

Notes:

1. You can always use readymade Khoya for this recipe but I would highly recommend making it from scratch.
2. Instead of garnishing with crushed pistachios you can also use cherries or almonds
3. If the dough is too soft, add almond or coconut powder to the mix
4. If the dough is too dry, add heavy cream as needed to make it soft
5. You can store pedas in airtight containers and consume within 2-3 days

Happy cooking !! ♥♥