Peda, small milk cakes

One of the most popular desserts in Nepal, Peda is a sweet made out of milk. It is also a common sweet that is offered to the gods and goddesses during any puja or worship. It looks like a mini cheese cake, however, the size of a peda could vary from small to big and from one shop to another. Originally, it was made purely out of khuwa (milk solid) and used very less or absolutely no sugar, however, these days, people mix sugar to make it sweet, sometime too sweet which results in losing its authentic taste. Nevertheless, it is still the favorite sweet of many people in Nepal and peda, especially made in Barmajiya (small village in eastern Nepal that falls on the east-west highway) is quite famous.



Here is how you can make peda in your own kitchen.

milk peda

Ingredients:

3 cups whole milk

1 cup half-and-half

4 tbsp sugar

1 tsp ghee or butter

12 sliced pistachio nuts

1 tsp lemon juice

½ tsp cardamom powder

Procedure:

Take a large cooking bowl and boil milk and half-and-half with few drops of lemon juice. This will make the milk separate into solid chunk and liquid from which you need to keep aside the solid chunk. Now, heat a pan, melt the ghee and then add milk solid chunk to it. Then, add sugar and cardamom powder and cook it over low heat stirring continuously. Then, beat the mixture well and remove it from fire. Let the mixture cool and when it has cooled down, take equal portions of the mixture and make a ball shape then flatten it slightly over your palm. After that, place it on a greased tray and repeat the process for rest of the mixture. Finally, decorate the peda by topping it with sliced pistachio on it but remember that it should not be salted.